Full text of "Around the wicket gate; or, A friendly talk with seekers concerning faith in the Lord Jesus Christ"

See other formats

>>•'

ATE

^ f !

-^i^.^^-f&'V

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

Shelf

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

#■

'«tT

»-^>-

-jW

:^'j*L

r:^^"^

^^^ ^A\ I

AROUiND
THE WICKET GATE;

OR,

A FRIENDLY TALK WITH SEEKERS
CONCERNING FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

. ^ C . II . S P U Pv G E O N .

" ^ntrr ue m at tlje strait gate." — Matt. vii. 13.

JV'ew l^oi'k :
A. C ARMSTRONG &

714 BROADWAY
1890.

Vc,A

^"..0,

By agreeiTient ATvith Messrs. PASSMORE &
ALABASTER, and ^7vith my full authority, this
book is published in America by Messrs. ARM-
STRONG & SON of New York.

C. H. SPURGEON.

P E E F A C E .

1\ /PILLIONS of men are in the outlying regions, far
off from God and peace ; for these we pray, and
to these we give warning. But just now we have to do
with a smaller company, who are not far from the
kingdom, but have come right up to the wicket gate
which stands at the head of the way of life. One would
think that they would hasten to enter, for a free and
open invitation is placed over the entrance, the porter
waits to welcome them, and there is but this one way
to eternal life. He that is most loaded seems the most
likely to pass in and begin the heavenward journey;
but what ails the other men?

This is what I want to find out. Poor fellows ! they
have come a long way already to get where they are ;
and the King's highway, which they seek, is right
before them : wh}^ do they not take to the Pilgrim
Eoad at once ? Alas ! they have a great many reasons ;
and foolish as those reasons are, it needs a very wise
man to answer them all. I cannot pretend to do so.
Only the Lord himself can remove the folly which is
bound up in their hearts, and lead them to take the
great decisive step. Yet the Lord works by means ;
and I have prepared this little book in the earnest

4 PREFACE.

hope that he may work by it to the blessed end of
leading seekers to an immediate, simple trust in the
Lord Jesus.

He who does not take the step of faith, and so enter
upon the road to heaven, will perish. It will be an
awful thing to die just outside the gate of life. Almost
saved, but altogether lost ! A man just outside Noah's
ark would be drowned ; a manslayer just outside the
wall of the city of refuge would be slain; and the man
who is within a yard of Christ, and yet has not trusted
him, will be lost. Therefore am I in terrible earnest to
get my hesitating friends over the threshold. Come in !
Come in ! is my pressing entreaty. May the Holy
Spirit render it effectual with many who shall glance
at these pages ! May he cause his own almighty voice
to be heard creating faith at once !

My reader, if Grod blesses this book to you, do the
writer this favour — either lend your own copy to one
who is lingering at the gate, or buy another and give
it away ; for his great desire is that this little volume
should be of service to many thousands of souls.

To God this book is commended; for without his grace
nothing will come of all that is written.

PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITIGH.

The host of American Christians who have
had the privilege of listening to the prince of
modern preachers of the gospel in his own
London Tabernacle, and the countless thou-
sands who have read his printed sermons, have
long desired to see and hear him on this side
the ocean. The state of his health, however,
which requ.ires frequent respites from his in-
cessant and exhausting labors, precludes the
hope of an American tour, with its inevitable
demands upon his already overburdened
strength.

All the more on this account they will wel-
come a new volume from his pen, designed for
the benefit of a class found in every Christian
community, the object of the deepest concern to
the Church of Christ : a volume written by a
master in Israel who has shown such a profound
knowledge both of the human heart with all
its needs, and of the wisdom and power of God
in the gospel, and who has been to so many

O PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.

souls the blessed means of leading them to
Christ.

This new volume, like the author's many
previous books and tracts, his well-organized
Colporter Society, etc., testifies to his high
appreciation of the power of the press, and to
his desire thus to win for Christ myriads of
those whom his voice cannot reach.

To all who are hovering around the " Wicket
Gate," or who even from time to time come
within sight of it and wish they were safe
within it, this little book is commended, with
the hope that even while they are reading they
will knock and it shall be opened to them.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Awakening --•-•---9

Jesus Only -------16

Faith in the Person of the Lord Jesus - - 21

Faith vert Simple - - - - - - 35

Fearing to Believe - - - - - -48

Difficulty in the 'Wat of Believing - - 57

A Helpful Survey of Christ's Work - - 65

A Real Hindrance to Faith - - - . 73

On Raising Questions - - - - _ - 80

Without Faith no Salvation - - . . 88

To those who have Believed - - - - 93

^rounb i^c XDicket (Bate.

RE AT numbers of persons
have no concern about
eternal things. They care
more about their cats and
dogs than about their souls.
It is a great mercy to be
made to think about our-
selves, and how we stand
towards God and the eternal world. This is
full often a sign that salvation is coming to
us. By nature we do not like the anxiety
which spiritual concern causes us, and we
try, like sluggards, to sleep again. This is
great foolishness ; for it is at our peril that we
trifle when death is so near, and judgment is
so sure. If the Lord has chosen us to eternal
life, he will not let us return to our slumber.
If we are sensible, we shall pray that our

10 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

anxiety about our souls may never come to
an end till we are really and truly saved.
Let us say from our hearts : —

" He that suffered in my stead,
Shall my Physician be ;
I will not be comforted
Till Jesus comfort me."

It would be an awful thing to go dreaming
down to hell, and there to lift up our eyes
with a great gulf fixed between us and
heaven. It will be equally terrible to be
aroused to escape from the wrath to come,
and then to shake ofp the warning influence,
and go back to our insensibility. I notice
that those who overcome their convictions
and continue in their sins are not so easily
moved the next time : every awakening
which is thrown away leaves the soul more
drowsy than before, and less likely to be
again stirred to holy feeling. Therefore our
heart should be greatly troubled at the
thought of getting rid of its trouble in any
other than the right way. One who had the
gout was cured of it by a quack medicine,
which drove the disease within, and the
patient died. To be cured of distress of
mind by a false hope, would be a terrible
business : the remedy would be worse than
the disease. Better far that our tenderness

AWAKENING. 11

of conscience should cause us long years of
anguish, tlian tliat we should lose it, and
perish in the hardness of our hearts.

Yet awakening is not a thing to rest in, or
to desire to have lengthened out month after
month. If I start up in a fright, and find
my house on fire, I do not sit down at the
edge of the bed, and say to myself, '^ I hope
I am truly awakened ! Indeed, I am deeply
grateful that I am not left to sleep on!"
No, I want to escape from threatened death,
and so I hasten to the door or to the window,
that I may get out, and may not perish
where I am. It would be a questionable
boon to be aroused, and yet not to escape
from the danger. Remember, awakening is
not salvation. A man may know that he is
lost, and yet he may never be saved. He
may be made thoughtful, and yet he may
die in his sins. If you find out that you are
a bankrupt, the consideration of your debts
will not pay them. A man may examine
his wounds all the year around, and they will
be none the nearer being healed because he
feels their smart, and notes their number. It
is one trick of the devil to tempt a man to be
satisfied with a sense of sin ; and another trick
of the same deceiver to insinuate that the
sinner may not be content to trust Christ,

12 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

unless he can brin^ a certain measure ol
despair to add to the Saviour's finished work.
Our awakenings are not to help the Saviour,
but to help us to the Saviour. To imagine
that my feeling of sin is to assist in the
removal of the sin is absurd. It is as though
I said that water could not cleanse my face
unless I had looked longer in the glass, and
had counted the smuts upon my forehead. A
sense of need of salvation by grace is a very
healthful sign ; but one needs wisdom to use
it aright, and not to make an idol of it.

Some seem as if they had fallen in love
with their doubts, and fears, and distresses.
You cannot get them away from their terrors
— they seem wedded to them. It is said
that the worst trouble with horses when their
stables are on fire, is that you cannot get
them to come out of their stalls. If they
would but follow your lead, they might
escape the flames ; but they seem to be
paralyzed with fear. So the fear of the fire
prevents their escaping the fire. Reader, will
your very fear of the wrath to come prevent
your escaping from it ? We hope not.

One who had been long in prison was not
willing to come out. The door was open ;
but he pleaded even with tears to be allowed
to stay where he had been so long. Fond of

AWAKENING. 13

prison ! Wedded to the iron bolts and the
prison fare ! Surely the prisoner must have
been a little touched in the head ! Are you
willing to remain an awakened one, and
nothing more ? Are you not eager to be at
once forgiven ? If you would tarry in
anguish and dread, surely you, too, must be
a little out of your mind ! If peace is to be
had, have it at once ! Why tarry in the
darkness of the pit, wherein your feet sink in
the miry clay ? There is light to be had ;
light marvellous and heavenly ; why lie in
the gloom and die in anguish ? You do not
know how near salvation is to you. If you
did, you would surely stretch out your hand
and take it, for there it is ; and it is to he had
for the taking.

Do not think that feelings of despair
would fit you for mercy. When the pilgrim,
on his way to the Wicket Gate, tumbled
into the Slough of Despond, do you think
that, when the foul mire of that slough stuck
to his garments, it was a recommendation
to him, to get him easier admission at the
head of the way ? It is not so. The pilgrim
did not think so by any means ; neither may
you. It is not what you feel that will save
you, but what Jesus felt. Even if there were
some healing value in feelings, they would

14 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

have to be good ones ; and the feeling which
makes us doubt the power of Christ to save,
and prevents our finding salvation in him, is
by no means a good one, but a cruel wrong
to the love of Jesus,

Our friend has come to see us, and has
travelled through our crowded London by
rail, or tram, or omnibus. On a sudden he
turns pale. We ask him what is the matter,
and he answers, '^ I have lost my pocket-book,
and it contained all the money I have in the
world." He goes over the amount to a penny,
and describes the cheques, bills, notes, and
coins. We tell him that it must be a great
consolation to liim to be so accurately ac-
quainted with the extent of his loss. He
does not seem to see the worth of our con-
solation. We assure him that he ought to
be grateful that he has so clear a sense of
his loss ; for many persons might have lost
their pocket-books and have been quite un-
able to compute their losses. Our friend is
not, however, cheered in the least. ^'No,"
says he, 'Ho know my loss does not help
me to recover it. Tell me where I can find
my property, and you have done me real
service; but merely to know my loss is
no comfort whatever." Even so, to believe
that you have sinned, and that your soul is

AWAKENING.

forfeited to the justice of God, is a very
proper thing ; but it will not save. Salvation
is not by our knowing our own ruin, but by
fully grasping the deliverance provided in
Christ Jesus. A person who refuses to look
to the Lord Jesus, bat persists in dwelling
upon his sin and ruin, reminds us of a boy
who dropped a shilling down an open grating

of a London sewer, and lingered there for
hours, finding comfort in saying, ^' It rolled
in just there ! Just between those two iron
bars I saw it go right down." Poor soul !
Long might he remember the details of his
loss before he would in this way get back a
single penny into his pocket, wherewith to
buy himself a piece of bread. You see the
drift of the parable ; profit by it.

)

E3U3 ONLY.

E cannot too often or too
plainly tell the seeking soul
that his only hope for salva-
tion lies in the Lord Jesus
Christ. It lies in liim com-
pletely, only, and alone. To
save both from the guilt and
the power of sin, Jesus is
all-sufficient. His name is called Jesus,
because " he shall save his people from
their sins." ''The Son of man hath power
on earth to forgive sins " He is exalted
on high " to give repentance and remission
of sins.'^ It pleased God from of old to
devise a method of salvation which should
be all contained in his only-begotten Son.
The Lord Jesus, for the working out of
this salvation, became man, and being found
in fashion as a man, became obedient to

JESUS ONLy. 17

death, even tlie death of the cross. If another

way of deliverance had been possible, the

cup of bitterness would have passed from

him. It stands to reason that the darling of

heaven would not have died to save us if we

could have been rescued at less expense.

Infinite grace provided the great sacrifice ;

infinite love submitted to death for our sakes.

How can we dream that there can be another

way than the way which Grod has provided

at such cost, and set forth in Holy Scripture

so simply and so pressingly ? Surely it is

true that ^' Neither is there salvation in any

other : for there is none other name under

heaven given among men, whereby we must

be saved."

To suppose that the Lord Jesus has only

half saved men, and that there is needed

some work or feeling of their own to finish

his work, is wicked. What is there of ours

that could be added to his blood and

righteousness ? " All our righteousnesses are

as filthy rags." Can these l)e patched on to

the costly fabric of his divine righteousness ?

Rags and fine white linen ! Our dross and

his pure gold ! It is an insult to the Saviour

to dream of such a thing. We have sinned

enough, without adding this to all our other

offences.
2

18 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

Even if we had any righteousness in which
we could boast; if our fig leaves were
broader than usual, and were not so utterly
fading, it would be wisdom to put them away,
and accept that righteousness which must be
far more pleasing to God than anything of
our own. The Lord must see more that is
acceptable in his Son than in the best of us.
The best of us I The words seem satirical,
though they were not so intended. What
best is there about any of us? '^ There is
none that doeth good; no, not one." I who
write these lines, would most freely confess
that I have not a thread of goodness of my
own. I could not make up so much as a. rag,
or a piece of a rag. I am utterly destitute.
But if I had the fairest suit of good works
which even pride can imagine, I would tear
it up that I might put on nothhig but the
garments of salvation, which are freely given
by the Lord Jesus, out of the heavenly
wardrobe of his own merits.

It is most glorifying to our Lord Jesus
Christ that we should hope for every good
thing from him alone. This is to treat him
as he deserves to be treated ; for as he is God,
and beside him there is none else, we are
bound to look unto him and be saved.

This is to treat him as he loves to be treated.

JESUS ONLY.

for he bids all those who labour and are heavy
laden to come to him, and he will give them
rest. To imagine that he cannot save to the
uttermost is to limit the Holy One of Israel,
and put a slur upon his power; or else to
slander the loving heart of the Priend of
sinners, and cast a doubt upon his love. In
either case, we should commit a cruel and
wanton sin against the tenderest points of
his honour, which are his ability and willing-
ness to save all that come unto God by Inm.

The child, in danger of the fire, just clings
to the fireman, and trusts to him alone. She

mm^-''j^

20 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

raises no question about the strength of his
limbs to carry her, or the zeal of his heart to
rescue her ; but she clings. The heat is
terrible, the smoke is blinding, but she clings ;
and her deliverer quickly bears her to safety.
In the same childlike confidence cling to
Jesus, who can and will bear you out of
danger from the flames of sin.

The nature of the Lord Jesus should in-
spire us with the fullest confidence. As he is
God, he is almighty to save ; as he is man,
he is filled with all fulness to bless ; as he is
God and man in one Majestic Person, he
meets man in his creatureship and God in his
holiness. The ladder is long enough to reach
from Jacob prostrate on the earth, to Jehovah
reigning in heaven. To bring another ladder
would be to suppose that he failed to bridge
the distance ; and this would be grievously to
dishonour him. If even to add to his words
is to draw a curse upon ourselves, what must
it be to pretend to add to himself ? Remember
that he, himself, is the Way ; and to suppose
that we must, in some manner, add to the
divine road, is to be arrogant enough to
think of adding to him. Away with such a
notion ! Loathe it as you would blasphemy ;
for in essence it is the worst of blasphemy
aorainst the Lord of love.

JESUS ONLY. 21

To come to Jesus with a price in our hand,
would be insufferable pride, even if we had
any price that w^e could bring. What does
he need of us ? What could we bring if he
did need it? AVould he sell the priceless
blessings of his redemption ? That which he
wrought out in his heart's blood, would he
barter it with us for our tears, and vows, or
for ceremonial observances, and feelings, and
w^orks ? He is not reduced to make a market
of himself : he will give freely, as beseems his
royal love; but he that offereth a price to
him knows not with whom he is dealing,
nor how grievously he vexes his free Spirit.
Empty-handed sinners may have what they
will. All that they can possibly need is in
Jesus, and he gives it for the asking ; but we
must believe that he is all in all, and we must
not dare to breathe a word about completing
what he has finished, or fitting ourselves for
what he gives to us as undeserving sinners.

The reason why we may hope for forgive-
ness of sin, and life eternal, by faith in the
Lord Jesus, is that God has so appointed.
He has pledged himself in the gospel to save
all who truly trust in the Lord Jesus, and
he will never run back from his promise. He
is so well pleased with his only-begotten
Son, that he takes pleasure in all who lay

22 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

hold upon him as their one and only hope.
The great God himself has taken hold on
him who has taken hold on his Son. He
works salvation for all who look for that
salvation to the once-slain Redeemer. For
the honour of his Son, he will not suffer the
man who trusts in him to be ashamed. ^^ He
that belie veth on the Son hath everlasting
life ; " for the ever-living God has taken him
unto himself, and has given to him to be a
partaker of his life. If Jesus only be your
trust, you need not fear but what you shall
effectually be saved, both now and in the
day of his appearing.

When a man confides, there is a point of
union between him and God, and that union
guarantees blessing. Faith saves us because
it makes us cling to Christ Jesus, and he is
one with God, and thus brings us into con-
nection with God. I am told that, years ago,
above the Falls of Niagara, a boat was upset,
and two men were being carried down by the
current, when persons on the shore managed
to float a rope out to them, which rope was
seized by them both. One of them held fast
to it, and was safely drawn to the bank ; but
the other, seeing a great log come floating
by, unwisely let go the rope, and clung to
the great piece of timber, for it was the

JESUS ONLY. 23

bigger thing of the two, and ai'jparently
better to cling to. Alas ! the timber, with the
man on it, went right over the vast abyss,
because there was no union between the wood
and the shore. The size of the log was no
benefit to him who grasped it ; it needed
a connection with the shore to produce
safety. So, when a man trusts to his works,
or to his prayers, or almsgivings, or to
sacraments, or to anything of that sort, he
will not be saved, because there is no junction
between him and God through Christ Jesus ;
but faith, though it may seem to be like a
slender cord, is in the hand of the great God
on the shore side ; infinite power pulls in the
connecting line, and thus draws the man from
destruction. Oh, the blessedness of faith,
because it unites us to God by the Saviour,
whom he has appointed, even Jesus Christ !
0 reader, is there not common-sense in this
matter ? Think it over, and may there soon
be a band of union between you and God,
through your faith in Christ Jesus !

FyVITH 1|N THE pEF^gON Of THE
JUORD jEgU3

|HERE is a wretched tendency
among men to leave Christ
himself oat of the gospel.
They might as well leave
flom^ out of bread. Men
hear the way of salvation
explained, and consent to it
as being Scriptural, and in every way such
as suits their case ; but they forget that a
plan is of no service unless it is carried out ;
and that in the matter of salvation their own
personal faith in the Lord Jesus is essential.
A road to York will not take me there, I
must travel along it for mysell All the
sound doctrine that ever was believed will
never save a man unless he puts his trust
in the Lord Jesus for himself.

Mr. Macdonald asked tlie inhabitants of

PERSONAL FAITH IN JESUS. 25

the island of St. Kilda how a man must be
saved. An old man replied, ^' We shall be
saved if we repent, and forsake our sins, and
turn to God." '^Yes," said a middle-aged
female, ^' and with a true heart too." ^' ^y?"
rejoined a third, '' and with prayer"; and,
added a fourth, ^'It must be the prayer of
the heart." '^ And we must be diligent too,"
said a fifth, ^'in keeping the command-
ments." Thus, each having contributed his
mite, feeling that a very decent creed had
been made up, they all looked and listened
for the preacher's approbation ; but they had
aroused his deepest pity : he had to begin at
the beginning, and preach Christ to them.
The carnal mind always maps out for itself
a way in which self can work and become
great; but the Lord's way is quite the re-
verse. The Lord Jesus puts it very com-
pactly in Mark xvi. 16 : '^ He that belie veth
and is baptized shall be saved." Believing
and being baptized are no matters of merit
to be gloried in; they are so simple that
boasting is excluded, and free grace bears
the palm. This way of salvation is chosen
that it might be seen to be of grace alone.
It may be that the reader is unsaved : what
is the reason ? Do you think the way of
salvation, as laid down in the text we have

26 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

quoted, to be dubious ? Do you fear tliat
you would not be saved if you followed it ?
How can that be, when God has pledged his
own word for its certainty ? How can that
fail which God prescribes, and concerning
which he gives a promise ? Do you think it
very easy ? Why, then, do you not attend
to it ? Its ease leaves those without excuse
who neglect it. If you would have done
some great thing, be not so foolish as to
neglect the little thing. To believe is to
trust, or lean upon Christ Jesus ; in other
words, to give up self-reliance, and to rely
upon the Lord Jesus. To be baptized is
to submit to the ordinance which our Lord
fulfilled at Jordan, to which the converted
ones submitted at Pentecost, to which the
jailer yielded obedience on the very night
of his conversion. It is the outward con-
fession which should always go with inw^ard
faith. The outward sign saves not ; but
it sets forth to us our death, burial, and
resurrection with Jesus, and, like the Lord's
Supper, it is not to be neglected.

The great point is to believe in Jesus, and
confess your faith. Do you believe in Jesus?
Then, dear friend, dismiss your fears ; you
shall be saved. Are you still an unbeliever?
Then remember, there is but one door, and

PERSONAL FAITH IN JESUS. 27

if you will not enter by it, you must perish
in your sins. The door is there ; but unless
you enter by it, what is the use of it to
you ? It is of necessity that you obey the
command of the gospel. Nothing can save
you if you do not hear the voice of Jesus,
and do his bidding indeed and of a truth.
Thinking and resolving will not answer
the purpose ; you must come to real business ;
for only as you actually believe will you
truly live unto God.

I heard of a friend who deeply desired to
be the means of the conversion of a young man,
and one said to him, '' You may go to him,
and talk to him, but you will get him no
further ; for he is exceedingly well acquainted
with the plan of salvation." It was eminently
so ; and therefore, when our friend began to
speak with the young man, he received for
an answer, ^' I am much obliged to you, but
I do not know that you can tell me much, for
I have long known and admired the plan of
salvation by the substitutionary sacrifice of
Christ." Alas ! he was resting in the plan,
but he had not believed in the Ferson. The
plan of salvation is most blessed, but it can
avail us nothing unless we personally believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ himself. What is
the comfort of a plan of a house if you do not

AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

enter the house itself ? The man in our cut,

who is sitting out in the rain, is not
deriving much comfort from the plans which
are spread out before him. What is the good
of a plan of clothing if yon have not a rag to
cover you ? Have you never heard of the
Arab chief at Cairo, who was very ill, and
went to the missionary, and the missionary
said he could give him a prescription ? He
did so ; and a week after he found the Arab
none the better. '• Did you take my pre-
scription?" he asked. ''Yes, I ate every
morsel of the paper." He dreamed that he
was going to be cured by devouring the
physician's writing, which I may call the
plan of the medicine. He should have had

PERSONAL FAITH IN JESUS. 29

the prescription made up, and then it might
have wrought him good, if he had taken the
draught: it could do him no good to swallow
the recipe. So is it with salvation : it is not
the plan of salvation which can save, it is the
carrying out of that plan by the Lord Jesus
in his death on our behalf, and our acceptance
of the same. Under the Jewish law, the
offerer brought a bullock, and laid his hands
upon it : it was no dream, or theory, or plan.
In the victim for sacrifice he found something
substantial, which he could handle and touch :
even so do we lean upon the real and true
work of Jesus, the most substantial thing
under heaven. We come to the Lord Jesus
by faith, and say, '^ Grod has provided an
atonement here, and I accept it. I believe
in the fact accomplished on the cross ; I am
confident that sin was put away by Christ,
and I rest on him." If you would be saved,
you must get beyond the acceptance of plans
and doctrines to a resting in the divine person
and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear reader, will you have Christ now ?

Jesus invites all those who labour and are
heavy laden to come to him, and he will
give them rest. He does not promise this to
their merely dreaming about him. They
must COME ; and they must come to him, and

30 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

not merely to the Church, to baptism, or to

the orthodox faith, or to anything short of his

divine person. When the brazen serpent was

lifted up in the wilderness, the people were

not to look to Moses, nor to the Tabernacle,

nor to the pillar of cloud, but to the brazen

serpent itself. Looking was not enough

unless they looked to the right object : and

the right object was not enough unless they

looked. It was not enough for them to know

about the serpent of brass ; they must each

one look to it for himself. When a man is ill,

he may have a good knowledge of medicine,

and yet he may die if he does not actually

take the healing draught. We must receive

Jesus; for ^'to as many as received him, to

them gave he power to become the sons of

Grod." Lay the emphasis on two words :

We must receive HIM, and v:}e must receive

him. We must open wide the door, and take

Christ Jesus in; for ^'Christ in you" is ^Hhe

hope of glory." Christ must be no myth, no

dream, no phantom to us, but a real man,

and truly God ; and our reception of him

must be no forced and feigned acceptance,

but the hearty and happy assent and consent

of the soul that lie shall be the all in all of

our salvation. Will we not at once come to

him, and make him our sole trust ?

PEKSONAL FAITH IN JESUS.

The dove is hunted by the hawk, and finds
no security from its restless enemy. It has
learned that there is shelter for it in the cleft

of the rock, and it hastens there with glad-
some wing. Once wholly sheltered within
its refuge, it fears no bird of prey. But if
it did not hide itself in the rock, it would
be seized upon by its adversary. The rock
would be of no use to the dove, if the dove
did not enter its cleft. The whole body
must be hidden in the rock. What if ten
thousand other birds found a fortress there,
yet that fact would not save the one dove
which is now pursued by the hawk ! It must
put its whole self into the shelter, and bury
itself within its refuge, or its life will be
forfeited to the destroyer.

32 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

What a picture of faith is this ! It is enter
ing into Jesus, hiding in his wounds.

"Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee."

The dove is out of sight : the rock alone is
seen. So does the guilty soul dart into the
riven side of Jesus by faith, and is buried
in him out of sight of avenging justice. But
tliere must be this personal application to
Jesus for shelter; and this it is that so many
put off from day to day, till it is to be feared
that they will '^ die in their sins.'' What an
awful word is that ! It is what our Lord
said to the unbelieving Jews ; and he says
the same to us at this hour: ^' If ye believe
not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."
It makes one's heart quiver to think that even
one who shall read these lines may yet be of
the miserable company who will thus perish.
The Lord prevent it of his great grace !

I saw, the other day, a remarkable picture,
which I shall use as an illustration of the way
of salvation by faith in Jesus. An offender
had committed a crime for which he must
die, but it was in the olden time, when
churches were considered to be sanctuaries
in which criminals might hide themselves,
and so escape from death. See the trans-
gressor ! He rushes towards the church, the

PERSONAL FAITH IN JESUS. 33

guards pursue him with their drawn swords,
athirst for his blood ! They follow him even
to the church door. He rushes up the steps,
and just as they are about to overtake
him, and hew him in pieces on the thres-
hold of the church, out comes the Bishop,
and holding up the cross, he cries, '' Back,
back ! Stain not the precincts of God's
house with blood ! Stand back ! " The fierce
soldiers at once respect the emblem, and
retire, while the poor fugitive hides himself
behind the robes of the Bishop. It is even
so with Christ. The guilty sinner flies
straight away to Jesus ; and though Justice
pursues him, Christ lifts up his v/ounded
hands, and cries to Justice, '' Stand back! I
shelter this sinner ; in the secret place of my
tabernacle do I hide him ; I will not suffer
him to perish, for he puts his trust in me."
Sinner, fly to Christ! But you answer, ^^I
am too vile." The viler you are, the more
will you honour him by believing that he is
able to protect even you. '' But I am so
great a sinner." Then the more honour
shall be given to him if you have faith to
confide in him, great sinner though you
are. If you have a little sickness, and
you tell your physician — '^ Sir, I am quite
confident in your skill to heal," there is no

34 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

great compliment in your declaration. Any-
body can cure a finger-ache, or a trifling
sickness. But if you are sore sick with a
complication of diseases which grievously
torment you, and you say — ^' Sir, I seek no
better physician ; I will ask no other advice
but yours; I trust myself joyfully with
you ; " what an honour have you conferred
on him, that you can trust your life in his
hands while it is in extreme and immediate
danger ! Do the like with Christ ; put your
soul into his care : do it deliberately, and
without a doubt. Dare to quit all other
hopes: venture all on Jesus ; I say ^^ venture"
though there is nothing really venturesome in
it, for he is abundantly able to save. Cast
yourself simply on Jesus ; let nothing but
faith be in your soul towards Jesus ; believe
him, and trust in him, and you shall never
be made ashamed of your confidence. " He
that believeth on him shall not be con
founded" (1 Peter ii. 6).

;.S,;'-^^«?7?\

^X"'^^^"^

i>ii^^^st2^SA>;/i<S''?^''£'''''^^^

^^^^IIlS^w^

Faith very 3'J^p^^-

lO many, faith seems a hard
thing. The truth is, it is
only hard because it is easy.
Naaman thought it hard that
he should have to wash
in Jordan ; but if it had
been some great thing, he
would have done it right cheerfully. People
think that salvation must be the result of
some act or feeling, very mysterious, and
very difficult ; but God's thoughts are not our
thoughts, neither are his ways our ways. In
order that the feeblest and the most ignorant
may be saved, he has made the way of
salvation as easy as the A, B, C. There is
nothing about it to puzzle anyone ; only, as
everybody expects to be puzzled by it, many
are quite bewildered when they find it to be
so exceedingly simple.

AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

The fact is, we do not believe that God
means what he is saying; we act as if it
could not be true.

I have heard of a Sunday-school teacher
who performed an experiment which I do
not think I shall ever try with children, for
it might turn out to be a very expensive
one. Indeed, I feel sure that the result in
my case would be very different from what I
now describe. This teacher had been trying
to illustrate what faith was, and, as he could
not get it into the minds of his boys, he
took his watch, and he said, "Now, I will

give you this watch, John. Will you have
it ? " John fell thinking what the teacher
could mean, and did not seize the treasure,

FAITH VERY SIMPLE. 37

but made no answer. The teacher said to
the next boy, ^' Henry, here is the watcli.
Will you have it ? " The boy, with a very
proper modesty, replied, ^^No, thank you,
sir." The teacher tried several of the boys
w4th the same result ; till at last a youngster,
who was not so wise or so thoughtful as the
others, but rather more believing, said in the
most natural way, ^' Thank you, sir," and put
the watch into his pocket. Then the other
boys woke up to a startling fact : their com-
panion had received a watch which they had
refused. One of the boys quickly asked of
the teacher, '^s he to keep it?" *^ Of
course he is,' said the teacher, ^^I offered it
to him, and he accepted it. I would not
give a thing and take a thing : that would
be very foolish. I put the watch before you,
and said that I gave it to you, but none of
you would have it." ''Oh!" said the boy,
'' if I had known you meant it, I would have
had it." Of course he would. He thought
it was a piece of acting, and nothing more.
All tlie other boys were in a dreadful state of
mind to think that they had lost the watch.
Each one cried, "Teacher, I did not know
you meant it, hut I thought — " No one took
the gift; but every one thought. Each one
had his theory, except the simple-minded

38 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

boy wlio believed what he was told, and got
the watch. Now I wish that I could always
be such a simple child as literally to believe
what the Lord says, and take what he puts
before me, resting quite content that he is
not playing with me, and that I cannot be
wrong in accepting what he sets before me
in the gospel. Happy should we be if we
would trust, and raise no questions of any
sort. But, alas ! we will get thinking and
doubting. When the Lord uplifts his dear
Son before a sinner, that sinner should take
him without hesitation. If you take him,
you have him ; and none can take him from
you. Out with your hand, man, and take
him at once !

When enquirers accept the Bible as literally
true, and see that Jesus is really given to
all who trust him, all the difficulty about
understanding the way of salvation vanishes
like the morning's frost at the rising of the
sun.

Two enquiring ones came to me in my
vestry. They had been hearing the gospel
from me for only a short season, but they
had been deeply impressed by it. They
expressed their regret that they were about
to remove far away, but they added their
gratitude that they had heard me at all.

FAITH VERY SIMPLE. 39

I was cheered by their kind thanks, but felt
anxious that a more effectual work should
be wrought in tliem, and therefore I asked
them "Have you in very deed believed in
the Lord Jesus Christ ? Are you saved ? "
One of them replied, '^I have been trying
hard to believe.'' This statement I have
often heard, but I will never let it go by
me unchallenged. '' No," I said, " that will
not do. Did you ever tell your father that
you tried to believe him ? " After I had
dwelt a while upon the matter, they admitted
that such language would have been an insult
tQ their father. I then set the gospel very
plainly before them in as simple language as
I could, and I begged them to believe Jesus,
who is more worthy of faith than the best
of fathers. One of them replied, "I cannot
realize it : I cannot realize that I am saved."
Then I went on to say, " Grod bears testi-
mony to his Son, that whosoever trusts in his
Son is saved. Will you make him a liar
now, or will you believe his word ? " While
I thus spoke, one of them started as if
astonished, and she startled us all as she
cried, "0 sir, I see it all; I am saved!
Oh, do bless Jesus for me ; he has shown me
the way, and he has saved me ! I see it all."
The esteemed sister who had brought these

40 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

young friends to me knelt down with them
while, with all our hearts, we blessed and
magnified the Lord for a soul brought into
light. One of the two sisters, however, could
not see the gospel as the other had done,
though I feel sure she will do so before long.
Did it not seem strange that, both hearing
the same words, one should come out into
clear light, and the other should remain in
the gloom ? The change which comes over
the heart when the understanding grasps
the gospel is often reflected in the face,
and shines there like the light of heaven.
Such newly-enlightened souls often exclaim,
'^ Why, sir, it is so plain ; how is it I have
not seen it before this ? I understand all
I have read in the Bible now, though I could
not make it out before. It has all come in a
minute, and now I see what I could never
understand before." The fact is, the truth
was always plain, but they were looking
for signs and wonders, and therefore did not
see what was nigh them. Old men often
look for their spectacles when they are on
their foreheads ; and it is commonly observed
that we fail to see that which is straight
before us. Christ Jesus is before our faces,
and we have only to look to him, and live;
but we make all manner of bewilderment of

FAITH VERY SIMPLE. 41

it, and so manufacture a maze out of that
which is plain as a pikestaff.

The little incident about the two sisters
reminds me of another. A much-esteemed
friend came to me one Sabbath mornincr after
service, to shake hands with me, " for," said
she, '' I was fifty years old on the same day
as yourself. I am like you in that one thing,
sir ; but I am the very reverse of you in
better things." I remarked, " Then you must
be a very good woman : for in many things
I wish I also could be the reverse of what I
am." ''No, no," she said, ^'I did not mean
anything of that sort : I am not right at all."
'^ What! " I cried, " are you not a believer
in the Lord Jesus?" '' Well," she said, with
much emotion, '^ T, I will try to be." I laid
hold of her hand, and said, ^' My dear soul,
you are not going to tell me that you v/ill
try to believe my Lord Jesus ! I cannot have
such talk from you. It means blank unbelief.
What has HE done that you should talk of
him in that way ? Would you tell 77ie that
you would try to believe me ? I know you
would not treat me so rudely. You think me
a true man, and so you believe me at once ;
and surely you cannot do less with my Lord
Jesus." Then with tears she exclaimed,
^' Oh, sir, do pray for me ! " To this I

42 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

replied, ^' I do not feel that I can do
anything- of the kind. What can I ask the
Lord Jesus to do for one who will not
trust him ? I see nothing to pray about.
If you will believe him, you shall be saved ;
and if you will not believe him, I cannot
ask him to invent a new way to gratify your
unbelief." Then she said again, "' I will try
to believe " ; but I told her solemnly I would
have none of her trying ; for tlie message from
the Lord did not mention '' trying," but said,
^' Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved." I pressed upon her the great
truth, that " He that belie veth on him hath
everlasting life " ; and its terrible reverse —
'' He that belie veth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name
of the only-begotten Son of Grod." I urged
her to full faith in the once crucified but
now ascended Lord, and the Holy Spirit there
and then enabled her to trust. She most
tenderly said, "• Oh, sir, I have been looking
to my feelings, and this lias been my
mistake ! Now I trust my soul with Jesus,
and I am saved." She found immediate
peace through believing. There is no other
way.

God has been pleased to make the neces-
sities of life very simple matters. We must

FAITH VERY SIMPLE.

eat ; and even a blind man can find the way
to his mouth. We must drink ;^nd even

the tiniest babe knows how to do this with-
out instruction. We have a fountain in the
grounds of the Stockwell Orphanage, and

44 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

when it is running in tlie hot weather, the
boys go to it naturally. We have no class
for fountain-drill. Many poor boys have
come to the Orphanage, but never one who
was so ignorant that he did not know how to
drink. Now faith is, in siDiritual things, what
eating and drinking are in temporal things.
By the mouth of faith we take the blessings
of grace into our spiritual nature, and they
are ours. 0 you who would believe, but
think you cannot, do you not see that, as one
can drink without strength, and as one can
eat without strength, and gets strength by
eating, so we may receive Jesus without
effort, and by accepting him we receive power
for all such further effort as we may be called
to put forth ?

t'aith is so simple a matter that, whenever
I try to explain it, I am very fearful lest I
should becloud its simplicity. When Thomas
Scott had printed his notes upon ^'The
Pilgrim's Progress," he asked one of his
parishioners whether she understood the book.
'^Oh yes, sir," said she, '^I understand Mr.
Bunyan well enough, and I am hoping that
one day, by divine grace, I may understand
your explanations." Should I not feel morti-
fied if my reader should know what faith
is, and then get confused by my explanation ?

FAITH VERY SIMPLE.

I will, however, make one trial, and pray
the Lord to make it clear.

I am told that on a certain highland road
there was a disputed right of way. The
owner wished to preserve his supremacy,
and at the same time he did not wish to
inconvenience the public : hence an arrange-
ment which occasioned the following incident.

Seeing a sweet country girl standing at the
gate, a tourist went up to her, and offered
her a shilling to permit him to pass. "No,
no," said tlie child, " I must not take any-
thing from you; bat you are to say, ^Please
allow me to pass,^ and then you may come
through and welcome." The permission
was to be asked for ; but it could be liad for
the asking. Just so, eternal life is free ; and

46 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

it can be liad, yea, it shall be at once had,
by trusting in the word of him wlio cannot
lie. Trust Christ, and by that trust you
grasp salvation and eternal life. Do not
philosophize. Do not sit down, and bother
your poor brain. Just believe Jesus as you
would believe your father. Trust him as
you trust your money with a banker, or
your health with a doctor.

Faith will not long seem a difficulty to
you ; nor ought it to be so, for it is simple.

Faith is trusting, trusting wholly upon
the person, work, merit, and power of the
Son of God. Some think this trusting is a
romantic business, but indeed it is the simplest
thing that can possibly be To some of us,
truths which were once hard to believe are
now matters of fact which we should find it
hard to doubt. If one of our great grand-
fathers were to rise from the dead, and come
into the present state of things, what a deal
of trusting he would liave to do ! He would
say to-morrow morning, ^' Where are the flint
and steel ? I want a lio-ht ; '' and we should
give him a little box with tiny pieces of wood
in it, and tell him to strike one of them on
the box. He would have to trust a good deal
before he would believe that fire would thus
be produced. We should next say to him,

FAITH VERY SIMPLE. 47

^^Now that you have a light, turn that tap,
and light the gas." He sees nothing. How
can light come through an invisible vapour ?
And jet it does. ''Come with us, grand-
father. Sit in that chair. Look at that box
in front of you. You sh all have your likeness
directly." '' No, child," he would say, '' it is
ridiculous. The sun take my portrait ? I
cannot believe it." '' Yes, and you shall ride
fifty miles in an hour without horses." He
will not believe it till we get him into the train.
'' My dear sir, you shall speak to your son in
New York, and he shall answer you in a few
minutes." Should we not astonish the old
gentleman ? Would he not want all his faith ?
Yet these things are believed by us without
effort, because experience has made us fami-
liar with them. Faith is greatly needed by
you who are strangers to spiritual things ;
you seem lost while we are talking about them.
But oh, how simple it is to us who have tlie
new life, and have communion with spiritual
realities ! We have a Father to whom we
speak, and he hears us, and a blessed Saviour
who hears our heart's longings, and helps us
in our struggles against sin. It is all plain
to him that understandeth. May it now be
plain to you 1

Fearijnq to Believe.

T is an odd product of our un-
healthy nature — the fear to
believe. Yet have I met
with it often : so often that
I wish I may never see it
again. It k)oks like humility,
and tries to pass itself off as
the very soid of modesty,
and yet it is an infamously proud tiling : in
fact, it is presumption playing the hypocrite.
If men were afraid to <i^sbelieve, there would
be good sense in the fear ; but to be afraid
to trust their God is at best an absurdity, and
in very deed it is a deceitful way of refusing
to the Lord the honour that is due to his
faithfulness and truth.

How unprofitable is the diligence which
busies itself in finding out reasons why faith
in our case should not be saving ! We have
God's word for it, that lohosoever believe th

FEARING TO BELIEVE. 49

in Jesus shall not perish, and we search for
arguments why toe should perish if we did
believe. If any one gave me an estate, 1
certainly should not commence raising ques-
tions as to the title. What can be the use
of inventing reasons why I should not hold
my own house, or possess any other piece of
property which is enjoyed by me ? If the
Lord is satisfied to save me through the
merits of liis dear Son, assuredly I may be
satisfied to be so saved. If I take God at
his word, the responsibility of fulfilling liis
promise does not lie with me, but with God,
who made the promise.

But you fear that you may not be one of
those for whom the promise is intended. Do
not be alarmed by that idle suspicion. No
soul ever came to Jesus wrongly. No one
can come at all unless the Fatlier draw him ;
and Jesus has said, '' Him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out." No soul ever
lays hold on Christ in a way of robbery ; he
that hath him hath him of right divine ; for
the Lord's giving of himself /or us, and to us,
is so free, that every soul that takes him has
a grace-given right to do so. If you lay hold
on Jesus by the hem of his garment, without
leave, and behind him, vet virtue will flow
from him to you as surely as if he had

AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

called you out by name, and bidden you
trust him. Dismiss all fear when you trust
the Saviour. Take him and welcome. He
that belie veth in Jesus is one of God's elect.
Did you suggest that it would be a horrible
thing if you were to trust in Jesus and yet
perish ? It would be so. But as you must
perish if you do not trust, the risk at the
worst is not very great.

" I can but perish if I go ;
I am resolved to try ;
For if I stay away, I know
I must for ever die,"

Suppose you stand in the Slough of Desp^ond

for ever; what will be the good of tliat?

FEARING TO BELIEVE, 51

Surely it would be bette.r to die struggling
along the King's highway towards the Celes-
tial City, than sinking deeper and deeper in
the mire and filth of dark distrustful thoughts !
You have nothing to lose, for you have lost
everything already ; therefore make a dash
for it, and dare to believe in the mercy of
God to youj even to you.

But one moans, '' What if I come to Christ,
and he refuses me ? " My answer is, '^ Try
him." Cast yourself on the Lord Jesus, and
see if he refuses you. You will be the first
against whom he has shut the door of hope.
Friend, don't cross that bridge till you come
to it ! When Jesus casts you out, it will be
time enough to despair ; but that time will
never come. ^' This man receiveth sinners " :
he has not so much as begun to cast them
out.

Have you never heard of the man who
lost his way one night, and came to the edge
of a precipice, as he thought, and in his own
apprehension fell over the cliff ? He clutched
at an old tree, and there hung, clinging to
his frail support with all his might. He felt
persuaded that, should he quit his hold, he
w^ould be dashed in pieces on some awful
rocks that waited for him down below.
There he hung, with the sweat upon his

52 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

brow, and anguish in every limb. He passed
into a desperate state of fever and faintness,
and at last his hands could hold up his body
no longer. He relaxed his grasp ! He
dropped from his support ! He fell — about
a foot or so, and was received ujDon a soft
mossy bank, w4iereon he lay, altogether
unhurt, and perfectly safe till morning.
Thus, in the darkness of their ignorance,
many think that sure destruction awaits
them, if they confess their sin, quit all
hope in self, and resign themselves into the
hands of God. They are afraid to quit the
hope to which they ignorantly cling. It is
an idle fear. Give up your hold upon every-
thing but Christ, and drop. Drop from all
trust in your works, or prayers, or feelings.
Drop at once ! Drop now ! Soft and Safe
shall be the bank that receives you. Jesus
Christ, in his love, in the efficacy of his
precious blood, in his perfect righteousness,
will give you immediate rest and peace.
Cease from self-confidence. Fall into the arms
of Jesus. This is the major part of faith
— giving up every other hold, and simply
falling upon Christ. There is no reason for
fear: only ignorance causes your dread of
that which will be your eternal safety. The
death of carnal hope is the life of faith, and

FEARING TO BELIEVE. 53

the life of faith is life everlasting. Let self
die, that Christ may live in you.

But tlie mischief is that, to the one act of
faith in Jesus, we cannot brins^ men. They
will adopt any expedient sooner than have
done with self. They fight shy of believing,
and fear faith as if it were a monster. 0
foolish tremblers, who has bewitched you ?
You fear that which would be the death of
all your fear, and the beginning of your joy.
Why will you perish through perversely
preferring other ways to God's own appointed
plan of salvation ?

Alas ! there are many, many souls that say,
" We are bidden to trust in Jesus, but instead
of that we will attend the means of grace
regularly." Attend public worship by all
means, but not as a substitute for faith, or
it will become a vain confidence. The com-
mand is, ^' Believe and live ; " attend to that,
whatever else you do. " Well, I shall take
to reading good books ; perhaps I shall get
good that way." Read the good books by
all means, but that is not the gospel : the
gospel is, " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved." Suppose a physician
has a patient under his care, and he says to him,
'^YoQ are to take a bath in the morning; it
will be of very great service to your disease."

54 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

But the man takes a cup of tea in tlie morning
instead of the bath, and he says, '' That will
do as well, I have no doubt." What does his
physician say when he enquires — ''Did you
follow my rule ? " '' No, I did not." '' Then
you do not expect, of course, that there will
be any good result from my visits, since you
take no notice of my directions." So we,
practically, say to Jesus Christ, when we
are under searching of soul, '' Lord, tfiou
badest me trust thee, but I would sooner
do sometiiing else ! Lord, I want to have
horrible convictions ; I want to be shaken
over hell's mouth ; I want to be alarmed and
distressed ! " Yes, you want anything but
what Christ prescribes for you, which is that
you should simply trust him. Whether you
feel or do not feel, cast yourself on him, that
he may save you, and he alone. ''But you
do not mean to say that you speak against
praying, and reading good books, and so
on ? " Not one single word do I speak
against any" of those things, any more than,
if I were the physician I quoted, I should
speak against the man's drinking a cup of
tea. Let him drink his tea ; but not if he
drinks it instead of taking the bath which is
prescribed for him. So let the man pray :
the more the better. Let the man search

FEARING TO BELIEVE.

the Scriptures ; but, remember, that if these
things are put in the place of simple faith
in Christ, the soul will be ruined. Beware
lest it be said of any of you by our Lord,
'^ Ye search the Scriptures, for in them ye
think ye liave eternal life ; but ye will not
come unto me that ye might have life."

Come by faith to Jesus, for without him
you perish for ever. Did you ever notice
how a fir-tree will get a hold among rocks

» A\

which seem to afford it no soil ? It sends a
rootlet into any little crack which opens ; it
clutches even the bare rock as with a huge
bird's claw ; it holds fast, and binds itself to

5Q AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

earth with a Imndred anchorages. Our little
drawing is very accurate. We have often
seen trees thus firmly rooted upon detached
masses of bare rock. Now, dear heart, let
this be a picture of yourself. Grip the Rock
of Ages. Witli the rootlet of little-faith hold
to him. Let that tiny feeler grow; and, mean-
while, send out another to take a new grasp
of the same Rock. Lay hold on Jesus, and
keep hold on Jesus. Grow up into him.
Twist the roots of your nature, the fibres of
your heart, about him. He is as free to you
as the rocks are to the fir-tree : be you as
firmly lashed to him as the pine is to the
mountain's side

'iV' S

!^^

itA

• *

i5^^

Difficulty ijm the Way of
Believinq.

T may be that the reader feels
a difficulty in believing.
Let him consider. We can-
not believe by an immediate
act. The state of mind
which we describe as be-
lieving is a result, following
upon certain former states
of mind. We come to faith by degrees.
There may be such a thing as faith at first
sight ; but usually we reach faith by stages :
we become interested^ we consider, we hear
evidence, we are convinced, and so led to
believe. If, then, I wish to believe, but for
some reason or other find that I cannot attain
to faith, what shall I do ? Shall I stand like
a cow staring at a new gate ; or shall I, like
an intelligent being, use the proper means ?
If I wish to believe anything, what shall
I do ? We will answer according to the
rules of common-sense.

58 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

If I were told that the Sultan of Zanzibar
was a good man, and it happened to be a
matter of interest to me, I do not suppose
I should feel any difficulty in believing it.
But if for some reason I had a doubt about
it, and yet wished to believe the news, how
should I act ? Should I not hunt up all the
information within my reach about his
Majesty, and try, by study of the newspapers
and other documents, to arrive at the truth ?
Better still, if he happened to be in this
country, and would see me, and I could also
converse Avith members of his court, and
citizens of his country, I should be greatly
helped to arrive at a decision by using these
sources of information. Evidence weighed
and knowledge obtained lead up to faith.
It is true that faith in Jesus is the gift of
God ; but yet he usually bestows it in
accordance with the laws of mind, and hence
we are told that ' ^ faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of Grod.'' If you
want to believe in Jesus, hear about him,
read about him, think about him, know
about him, and so you will find faith
springing up in your heart, like the wheat
which comes up through the moisture and
the heat operating upon the seed which
has been sown. If 1 wished to have faith

DIFFICULTY IN THE WAY OF BELIEVING. 59

in a certain physician, I should ask for
testimonials of his cures, I should wish to
see the diplomas which certified to his pro-
fessional knowledge, and I should also like
to hear what he has to say upon certain
complicated cases. In fact, I should take
means to know, in order that I might believe.
Be much in hearing concerning Jesus.
Souls by hundreds come to faith in Jesus
under a ministry which sets him forth clearly
and constantly. Few remain unbelieving
under a preacher whose great subject is Christ
crucified. Hear no minister of any other sort.
There are such. I have heard of one who
found in his pulpit Bible a paper bearing this
text, '^ Sir, toe tooiild see Jesus.'' Go to the

place of worship to see Jesus ; and if you
cannot even hear the mention of his name,

60 AROUND TllH WICKET GATE.

take yourself off to another place where he is
more thought of, and is therefore more likely
to be present.

Be much in reading about the Lord Jesus.
The books of Scripture are the lilies among
which he feedeth. The Bible is the window
through which we may look and see our Lord.
Read over the story of his sufferings and
death with devout attention, and before Ions'
the Lord will cause faith secretly to enter
your soul. The Cross of Christ not only
rewards faith, but begets faith. Many a
believer can say —

" When I view thee, wounded, grieving,
Breathless, on the cursed tree,
Soon I feel my heart believing
Thou hast suffered thus for me."

If hearing and reading suffice not, then
deliberately set your mind to loork to over-
haut the matter^ and have it out. Either
believe, or know the reason why you do not
believe. See the matter through to the
utmost of your ability, and pray God to help
you to make a thorough investigation, and
to come to an honest decision one way or
the other. Consider who Jesus was, and
whether the constitution of his person does
not entitle him to confidence. Consider
what he did, and whether this also must not

DIFFICULTY IN THE WAY OF BELIEVING. 61

be good ground for trust. Consider him as
dying, rising from t1ie dead, ascending, and
ever living to intercede for transgressors ;
and see whether this does not entitle him to
be relied on by you. Then cry to him, and
see if he does not hear you. When Usher
wished to know whether Rutherford was
indeed as holy a man as he was said to be,
he went to his house as a beggar, and gained
a lodging, and heard the man of Grod pour-
ing out his heart before the Lord in the
night. If you would know Jesus, get as
near to him as you can by studying his
character, and appealing to his love.

At one time I might have needed evidence
to make me believe in the Lord Jesus ; but
now I know him so well, by proving him,
that I should need a very great deal of
evidence to make me doubt him. It is now
more natural to me to trust than to dis-
believe : this is the new nature triumphing;
it was not so at the first. The novelty of
faith is, in the beginning, a source of weak-
ness ; but act after act of trusting turns faith
into a habit. Experience brings to faith
strong confirmation.

I am not perplexed with doubt, because
the truth which I believe has wroug^ht a
miracle on me. By its means I have received

AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

and still retain a new life, to which I was
once a stranger : and this is confirmation
of the strongest sort. I am like the good
man and his wife who had kept a lighthouse
for years. A visitor, who came to see the

liglithouse, looking out from the window
over the waste of waters, asked the good
woman, '' Are you not afraid at night, when
the storm is out, and the big weaves dash
right over tlie lantern ? Do you not fear
that tlie lighthouse, and all that is in it, will
be carried away ? I am sure I should be afraid

DIFFICULTY IN THE WAY OF BELIEVING. 63

to trust myself in a slender tower in the
midst of the great billows." The woman
remarked that the idea never occurred to
her now. She had lived there so long that
she felt as safe on the lone rock as ever she
did when she lived on the mainland. As
for her husband, when asked if he did not
feel anxious when the wind blew a hurricane,
he answered, ^' Yes, I feel anxious to keep
the lamps well trimmed, and the light
burning, lest any vessel should be wrecked."
As to anxiety about the safety of the light-
house, or his own personal security in it, he
had outlived all that. Even so it is with the
full-grown believer. He can humbly say,
'^ I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which
I have committed unto him against that day."
From henceforth let no man trouble me with
doubts and questionings ; I bear in my soul
the proofs of the Spirit's truth and power,
and I will have none of yoiu* artful reason-
ings. The gospel to me is truth : I am
content to perish if it be not true. I risk
my soul's eternal fate upon the truth of the
gospel, and I know that there is no risk
in it. My one concern is to keep tlie lights
burning, that I may thereby benefit others.
Only let the Lord give me oil enough to feed

64 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

my lamp, so that I may cast a ray across
the dark and treacherous sea of life, and I
am well content.

Now, troubled seeker, if it be so, that your
minister, and many others in whom vou con-
fide, have found perfect peace and rest in the
gospel, why should not you ? Is the Spirit
of the Lord straitened ? Do not his words
do good to them that walk uprightly ? Will
not you also try their saving virtue ?
' Most true is the gospel, for God is its
Author. Believe it. Most able is the Saviour,
for he is the Son of God. Trust him. Most
powerfid is his precious blood. Look to
it for pardon. Most loving is his gracious
heart. Run to it at once.

Thus would I urge the reader to seek
faith ; but if he be unwilling, what more can
I do ? I have brought the horse to the
water, but I cannot make him drink. This,
however, be it remembered — unbelief is wilful
when evidence is put in a mans loay^ mid he
refuses carefully to examine it. He that does
not desire to know, and accept the truth, has
himself to thank if he dies with a lie in his
ricrht hand. It is true that '' he that believeth

and is baptized shall be saved " : it is equally
true that '' he that believeth not shall be
damned."

A Helpful ^^i^vey.

0 help the seeker to a true
faith in Jesus, I would re-
mind him of the work of the
Lord Jesus in the room and
place and stead of sinners.
'^ When we were yet with-
out strength, in due time
Christ died for the un-
godly'' (Rom. V. 6). ^^ Who his own self
bare our sins in his own body on the tree "
(1 Pet. ii. 24). '' The Lord hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all" (Is. hii. 6). ''~Fot
Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the
Just for the unjust, that he might bring us
to God" (1 Pet. iii. 18).

Upon one declaration of Scripture let tlie
reader fix his eye. '' With hiB stripes we
ARE healed " (Is. liiL 5). God here treats
sin as a disease, and he sets before us the

costly remedy which he has provided.
5

66 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

I ask you very solemnly to accompany
me in your meditations, for a few minutes,
while I bring before you the stripes of the
Lord Jesus. The Lord resolved to restore
us, and therefore he sent his only-begotten
Son, ^^very Grod of very God,'^ that he
might descend into this world to take upon
himself our nature, in order to our re-
demption. He lived as a man among men ;
and, in due time, after thirty years or more
of obedience, the time came when he should
do us the greatest service of all, namely, stand
in our stead, and bear '' the chastisement
of our peace." He went to Grethsemane, and
there, at the first taste of our bitter cup, he
sweat great drops of blood. He went to
Pilate's hall, and Herod's judgment-seat, and
there drank draughts of pain and scorn in
our room and place. Last of all, they took
him to the cross, and nailed him there to die
— ^to die in our stead. The word ^* stripes "
is used to set forth his sufferings, both of
body and of soul. The whole of Christ was
made a sacrifice for us : his whole manhood
suffered. As to his body, it shared with his
mind in a grief that never can be described.
In the beginning of his passion, when he
emphatically suffered instead of us, he was
in an agony, and from his bodily frame a

A HELPFUL SURVEY. 67

bloody sweat distilled so copiously as to fall
to the ground. It is very rarely that a man
sweats blood. There have been one or two
instances of it, and they have been followed
by almost immediate death ; but our Saviour
lived — lived after an agony which, to any-
one else, would have proved fatal. Ere he
could cleanse his face from this dreadful
crimson, they hurried him to the high
p]'iest's hall. In the dead of night they
bound him, and led him away. Anon they
took him to Pilate and to Herod. These
scourged him, and their soldiers spat in his
face, and buffeted him, and put on his head
a crown of thorns. Scourging is one of the
most awful tortures that can be inflicted by
malice. It was formerly the disgrace of the
British army that the '^cat" was used upon
the soldier : a brutal infliction of torture.
But to the Roman, cruelty was so natural that
he made his common punishments worse than
brutal. The Eoman scourge is said to have
been made of the sinews of oxen, twisted
into knots, and into these knots were in-
serted slivers of bone, and huckle-bones of
sheep; so that every time the scourge fell
upon the bare back, '' the plowers made
deep furrows." Our Saviour was called
upon to endure the fierce pain of the Roman

68 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

scourge, and this not as the finis of his
punishment, but as a preface to crucifixion.
To this his persecutors added buffeting, and
pkicking of the hair : they spared him no
form of pain. In all his faintness, through
bleeding and fasting, they made him carry
his cross until another was forced, by the
forethought of their cruelty, to bear it, lest
their victim sliould die on the road. They
stripped him, and threw him down, and
nailed liim to the wood. They pierced his
hands and his feet. They Hfted up the tree,
with him upon it, and then daslied it down
into its place in the ground, so that all his
limbs were dislocated, according to the
lament of the twenty-second psalm, ^'lam
poured out like water, and all my bones are
out of joint." He hung in the burning sun
till the fever dissolved his strength, and he
said, '' My heart is like wax ; it is melted in
the midst of my bowels. My strength is
dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue
cleaveth to my jaws ; and thou hast brought
me into the dust of death." There he hung,
a spectacle to God and men. The weight of
his body was first sustained by his feet, till
the nails tore through the tender nerves :
and then the painful load began to drag
upon his hands, and rend those sensitive

A HELPFUL SURVEY. 69

parts of his frame. How small a wound in
the hand has brought on lockjaw ! How
awful must have been tlie torment caused
by that dragging iron tearing through the
delicate parts of the hands and feet ! Now
were all manner of bodily pains centred
in his tortured frame. All the while his
enemies stood around, pointing at him in
scorn, thrusting out their tongues in mockery,
jesting at his prayers, and gloating over liis
sufferings. He cried, ^' I thirst," and then
they gave him vinegar mingled with galL
After a while he said, ^' It is finished." He
had endured the utmost of appointed grief,
and had made full vindication to divine
justice : then, and not till then, he gave up
the ghost. Holy men of old have enlarged
most lovingly upon the bodily sufferings of
our Lord, and I have no hesitation in doing
the same, trusting that trembling sinners
may see salvation in these painful '' stripes "
of the Redeemer.

To describe the outward sufferings of our
Lord is not easy : I acknowledge that I have
failed. But his soul- sufferings, which were
the soul of his sufferings, who can even
conceive, much less express, what they were ?
At the very first I told you that he sweat
great drops of blood. That was his heart

70 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

driving out its life-floods to the surface
through the terrible depression of spirit which
was upon him. He said, '' My soul is ex-
ceeding sorrowful, even unto death." The
betrayal by Judas, and the desertion of the
twelve, grieved our Lord ; but the weight of
our sin was the real pressure on his heart.
Our guilt was the olive-press whicli forced
from him the moisture of his life. No lan-
guage can ever tell his agony in prospect
of his passion ; how little then can we con-
ceive the passion itself ? AVhen nailed to
the crosSj he endured what no martyr ever
suffered ; for martyrs, when they have died,
have been so sustained of God that they
have rejoiced amid their pain ; but our
Redeemer was forsaken of his Father, until
he cried, '' My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me ? " That was the bitterest cry
of all, the utmost depth of his unfathomable
grief. Yet was it needful that he should be
deserted, because God must turn his back on
sin, and consequently upon him who was
made sin for us. The soul of the great
Substitute suffered a horror of misery instead
of that horror of hell into which sinners
would have been plunged had he not taken
their sin upon himself, and been made a
curse for them. It is written, ^' Cursed is

A HELPFUL SURVEY. 71

every one that hangeth on a tree ; " but who
knows what that curse means ?

The remedy for your sins and mine is
found in the substitutionary sufferings of
the Lord Jesus, and in these only. These
'^stripes" of the Lord Jesus Christ were
on our behalf. Do you enquire, '^ Is there
anything for us to do, to remove the guilt of
sin ? " I answer : There is nothing what-
ever for you to do. By the stripes of Jesus
we are healed. All those stripes he has
endured, and left not one of them for us
to bear.

^' But must we not believe on him ? " Ay,
certainly. If I say of a certain ointment
that it heals, I do not deny that you need a
bandage with which to apj)ly it to the wound.
Faith is the linen which binds the plaster of
Christ's reconciliation to the sore of our sin.
The linen does not heal ; that is the work of
the ointment. So faith does not heal ; that
is the work of the atonement of Christ.

^' But we must repent," cries another.
Assuredly we must, and shall, for repentance
is the first sign of healing ; but the stripes
of Jesus heal us, and not our repentance.
These stripes, when applied to the heart,
work repentance in us : we hate sin because
it made Jesus suffer.

72 AROUND the" wicket GATE.

When you intelligently trust in Jesus as
having suffered for you, then you discover
the fact that God will never punish you for
the same offence for which Jesus died. His
justice will not permit him to see the debt
paid, first, by the Surety, and then again
by the debtor. Justice cannot twice demand
a recompense : if my bleeding Surety has
borne my guilt, then I cannot bear it.
Accepting Christ Jesus as suffering for me,
I have accepted a complete discharge from
judicial liability. I have been condemned
in Christ, and there is, therefore, now no
condemnation to me any more. This is the
ground- work of the security of the sinner
who believes in Jesus : he lives because
Jesus died in his room, and place, and stead;
and he is acceptable before God because
Jesus is accepted. The person for whom
Jesus is an accepted Substitute must go
free ; none can touch him ; he is clear. 0
my heaier, wdlt thou have Jesus Christ to be
thy Substitute ? If so, thou art free. ^' He
that belie veth on him is not condemned."
Thus ''with his stripes we are healed."

^^m^M

^K^«w^r

A T\E/iL HlNDf^yVjNlCE.

LT HOUGH it is by no means a
difficult thing in itself to believe
him who cannot lie, and to trust
in One whom we know to be
able to save, yet something may
intervene which may render
even this a hard thing to my
reader. That hindrance may be
a secret, and yet it may be none the less real.
A door may be closed, not by a great stone
which all can see, but by an invisible bolt
which shoots into a holdfast quite out of
sight. A man may have good eyes, and yet
may not be able to see an object, because
another substance comes in the way. You
could not even see the sun if a handkerchief,
or a mere piece of rag, were tied over your
face. Oh, the bandages which men persist in
binding over their own eyes !

74 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

A sweet sin, harboured in the heart, will
prevent a soul from laying hold upon Christ
by faith. The Lord Jesus has come to save
us from sinning ; and if Ave are resolved to
go on sinning, Christ and our souls will never
agree. If a man takes poison, and a doctor
is called in to save his life, he may have a
sure antidote ready ; but if the patient per-
sists in keeping the poison-bottle at his lips,
and w^ill continue to swallow the deadly
drops, how can the doctor save him ? Salva-
tion consists largely in parting the sinner
from his sin, and the very nature of salvation
would have to be changed before we could
speak of a man's being saved when he is
loving sin, and wilfully living in it. A man
cannot be made white, and yet continue
black ; he cannot be healed, and yet remain
sick; neither can anyone be saved, and be
still a lover of evil.

A drunkard will be saved by believing in
Christ — that is to say, he will be saved from
being a drunkard ; but if he determines still
to make himself intoxicated, he is not saved
from it, and he has not truly believed in
Jesus. A liar can by faith be saved from
falsehood, but then he leaves off lying, and
is careful to speak the truth. Anyone can
see with half an eye that he cannot be saved

A REAL HINDRANCE. 75

from being a liar, and yet go on in his old
style of deceit and untruthfulness. A person
who is at enmity with another will be saved
from that feeling of enmity by believing in
the Lord Jesus ; but if he vows that he will
still cherish the feeling of hate, it is clear
that he is not saved from it, and equally
clear that he has not believed in the Lord
Jesus unto salvation. The great matter is
to be delivered from the love of sin : this is
the sure effect of trust in the Saviour ; but if
this elfect is so far from being desired that
it is even refused, all talk of trusting in the
Saviour for salvation is an idle tale. A man
goes to the shipping-office, and asks if he can
be taken to America. He is assured that a
ship is just ready, and that he has only to go
on board, and he will soon reach New York.
^^ But," says he, ''I want to stop at home
in England, and mind my shop all the time
I am crossino: the Atlantic." The ag-ent thinks
he is talking to a madman, and tells him to
go about his business, and not waste his time
by playing the fool. To pretend to trust
Christ to save you from sin while you are still
determined to continue in it, is making a mock
of Christ. I pray my reader not to be guilty
of such profanity. Let him not dream that
the holy Jesus will be the patron of iniquity.

76 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

Do you see the tree in my picture ? The

ivy has grown all over it, and is. strangling
it, sucking out its life, and killing it. Can
that tree be saved ? The gardener thinks it
can be. He is willing to do his best. But
before he begins to use his axe and his knife,
he is told that he must not cut away the ivy.
"Ah! tlien," he says, ^' it is impossible. It
is the Ivy whicli is killing the tree, and if
you want the tree saved, you cannot save
the ivy. If you trust me to preserve the
tree, you must let me get the deadly climber
away from it.'' Is not that common sense ?
Certainly it is. You do not trust the tree to
the gardener unless you trust him to cut
away that which is deadly to it. If the

A REAL HINDRANCE. 77

sinner will keep his sin, he must die in it ; if
he is willing to be rescued from his sin, the
Lord Jesus is able to do it, and will do it if
he commits his case to his care.

What, then, is your darling sin? Is it
any gross wrong-doing ? Then very shame
should make you cease from it. Is it love of
the world, or fear of men, or longing for evil
gains ? Surely, none of these things should
reconcile you to living in enmity with God,
and beneath his frown. Is it a human love,
which is eating like a canker into the heart ?
Can any creature rival the Lord Jesus ? Is
it not idolatry to allow any earthly thing to
compare for one instant with the Lord God?
^'Well," saith one, ^'for me to give up the
particular sin by which I am held captive,
would be to my serious injury in business,
would ruin my prospects, and lessen my
usefulness in many ways.'' If it be so, you
have your case met by the words of the Lord
Jesus, who bids you to pluck out your eye,
and cut off your hand or foot, and cast it
from you, rather than be cast into hell. It
is better to enter into life with one eye, with
the poorest prospects, than to keep all your
hopes, and be out of Christ. Better be a
lame believei han a leaping sinner. Better
be in the rear rank for life in the army of

78 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

Christ than lead the van and be a chief
officer under the command of Satan. If you
win Christ, it will little matter what you
lose. No doubt many have had to suffer
that which has maimed and lamed them for
this life ; but if they have entered thereby
into eternal life, they have been great
gainers.

It comes to this, my friend, as it did with
John Bunj^an ; a voice now speaks to you,
and says —

WILT THOU KEEP THY SIN AJSTD GO TO HELL?

OR
LEAVE THY SIN AND GO TO HEAVEN ?

The point should be decided before you
quit the spot. In the name of God, I ask
you, Which shall it be — Christ and salva-
tion, or the favourite sin and damnation ?
There is no middle course. Waiting or
refusing to decide will practically be a sure
decision for the evil one. He that stands
questioning whether he will be honest or not,
is already out of the straight line : he that does
not know whether he wishes to be cleansed
from sin gives evidence of a foul heart.

If you are anxious to give up every evil
way, our Lord Jesus will enable you to do

A EEAL HINDRANCE. 79

SO at once. His grace has already changed
the direction of your desires : in fact, your
heart is renewed. Therefore, rest on him to
strengtlien you to battle with temptations as
they arise, and to fulfil the Lord's commands
from day to day. The Lord Jesus is great at
making the lame man to leap like a hart, and
in enabling those who are sick of the palsy
to take up their bed and walk. He will
make you able to conquer the evil habit. He
will even cast the devil out of you. Yes, if
you had seven devils, he could drive them
out at once ; there is no limit to his power to
cleanse and sanctify. Now that you are
willing to be made whole, the great difficulty
is removed. He that has set the will right
can arrange all your other powers, and make
them move to his praise. You would not
have earnestly desired to quit all sin if he
had not secretly inclined you in that direc-
tion. If you now trust him, it will be clear
that he has begun a good work in you, and
we feel assured that he will carry it on.

On I^ai3inq QuESTiojMg.

N these days, a simple, child-
like faith is very rare ; but
the usual thing is to believe
nothing, and question every-
thing. Doubts are as plen-
tiful as blackberries, and all
hands and lips are stained
with them. To me it seems
very strange that men should hunt up diffi-
culties as to their own salvation. If I were
doomed to die, and I had a hint of mercy, I
am sure I should not set my wits to work to
find out reasons why I should not be par-
doned. I could leave my enemies to do that :
I should bo on the look-out in a very different
direction. If I were drowning, I should
sooner catch at a straw than push a life-belt
away from me. To reason against one's
own life is a sort of constructive suicide of

ON RAISING QUESTIONS.

which only a drunken man wonld be guilty.
To argue against your only hope is like a
foolish man sitting on a bough, and chopping

it away so as to let himself down. Who but
an idiot would do that ? Yet many appear
to be special pleaders for their own ruin.
They hunt the Bible through for threatening
texts ; and when they have done with that,
they turn to reason, and philosojDhy, and
scepticism, in order to shut the door in their
own faces. Surely this is poor employment
for a sensible man.

Many nowadays who cannot quite get
away from religious thought, are able to
stave off the inconvenient pressure of con-
science by quibbling over the great truths of
revelation. Great mysteries are in the Book

AROUND TJIE WICKET GATE.

of God of necessity ; for how can the infiiiite
God so speak that all his thoughts can be
grasped by finite man ? But it is the height
of folly to get discussing these deep things,
and to leave plain, soul-saving truths in
abeyance. It reminds one of the two
philosophers who debated about food, and

went away empty from the table, while the
common countryman in the corner asked
no question, but used his knife and fork
with great diligence, and went on his way
rejoicing. Thousands are now happy in the
Lord through receiving the gospel like little
chiklren ; while others, who can always see
difficulties, or invent them, are as far off as
ever from any comfortable hope of salvation.
I know many very decent people who seem

ON RAISING QUESTIONS. 83

to have resolved never to come to Christ till
they can understand how the doctrine of
election is consistent with the free invitations
of the gospel. I might just as well deter-
mine never to eat a morsel of bread till it
has been explained to me how it is that God
keeps me alive, and yet I must eat to live.
The fact is, that we most of us knoiv quite
enougli already, and the real want with us
is not light in the head, but truth in the
heart ; not help over difficulties, but grace to
make us hate sin and seek reconciliation.

Here let me add a warning against tam-
pering with the Word of Grod. No habit
can be more ruinous to the soul. It is cool,
contemptuous impertinence to sit down and
correct your Maker, and it tends to make
the heart harder than the nether millstone.
We remember one who used a penknife on
his Bible, and it was not long before he had
given up all his former beliefs. The spirit
of reverence is healthy, but the impertinence
of criticizmg the inspired Word is destructive
of all proper feeling towards Grod.

If ever a man does feel his need of a
Saviour after treating Scripture wiih a 2)roud,
critical spirit, he is very apt to find his con-
science standing in the way, and hindering
him from comfort by reminding him of

AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

ill-treatment of tlie sacred Word. It comes
hard to him to draw consolation out of
passages of the Bible which he has treated
cavalierly, or even set aside altogether, as
unworthy of consideration. In his distress
the sacred texts seem to laugh at his calamity.
When the time of need comes, the wells
which he stopped with stones yield no water
for his thirst. Beware, when you despise a
Scripture, lest you cast away the only friend
that can help you in the hour of agony.

A certain German duke was accustomed to
call upon his servant to read a chapter of the
Bible to him every morning. When anything
did not square with his judgment he would
sternly cry, ^' Hans, strike that out." At

ON RAISING QUESTIONS. 85

length Hans was a long time before he began
to read. He fumbled over the Book, till his
master called out, '^Hans, why do you not
read ? " Then Hans answered, ^^ Sir, there is
hardly anything left. It is all struck out ! "
One day his master's objections had run one
way, and another day they had taken another
turn, and another set of passages had been
blotted, till nothing was left to instruct or
comfort him. Let us not, by carping criticism,
destroy our own mercies. We may yet need
those promises which appear needless ; and
those portions of Holy Writ which have been
most assailed by sceptics may yet prove
essential to our very life : wherefore let us
guard the priceless treasure of the Bible, and
determine never to resign a single line of it.

What have we to do with recondite
questions while our souls are in peril ? The
way to escape from sin is plain enough. The
wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err
therein. God has not mocked us with a sal-
vation which we cannot understand. Believe
AND LIVE is a command which a babe may
comprehend and obey.

Doubt no more, but now believe ;
Question not, but just receive.
Artful doubts and reasonings be
Nailed with. Jesus to trie tree.

AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

Instead of cavilling at Scripture, the man
who is led of the Spirit of God will close in
with the Lord Jesus at once. Seeing that
thousands of decent, common- sense people —
people, too, of the best character — are trusting
their all with Jesus, he will do the same, and
have done with further delays. Then has he
begun a life worth living, and he may have
done with further fear. He may at once
advance to that higher and better way of
living, which grows out of love to Jesus, the
Saviour. Why should not the reader do so
at once ? Oh that he would !

A Newark, New Jersey, butcher received
a letter from his old home in Germany,
notifying that he had, by the death of a

ON RAISING QUESTIONS. 87

relative, fallen heir to a considerable amount
of money. He was cutting up a pig at the
time. After reading the letter, he hastily
tore off his dirty apron, and did not stop to
see the pork cut up into sausages, but left
the shop to make preparations for going
home to Germany. Do you blame him, or
would you have had him stop in Newark
with his block and his cleaver ?

See here the operation of faith. The
butcher believed what was told him, and
acted on it at once. Sensible fellow, too !

God has sent his messao^es to man, telling^
him the good news of salvation. When a
man believes the good news to be true, he
accepts the blessing announced to him, and
hastens to lay hold upon it. If he truly
believes, he will at once take Christ, with
all he has to bestow, turn from his present
evil ways, and set out for the Heavenly City,
where the full blessing is to be enjoyed. He
cannot be holy too soon, or too early quit
the ways of sin. If a man could really see
what sin is, he would flee from it as from a
deadly serpent, and rejoice to be freed from
it by Christ Jesus.

Without Faith no Salvation.

OME think it hard that there
should be nothing for them
but ruin if they will not
believe in Jesus Christ ; but
if you will think for a minute
you w^ill see tliat it is just
and reasonable. 1 suppose
there is no way for a man
to keep his strength up except by eating.
If you were to say, ^^I will not eat again,
I despise such animalism," you might go
to Madeira, or travel in all lands (sup-
posing you lived long enough !), but you
would most certainly hnd that no climate
and no exercise would avail to keep you
alive if you refused food. Would you then
complain, ''It is a hard thing that I should
die because I do not believe in eating " ?
It is not an unjust thing that if you are so

WITHOUT FAITH NO SALVATION. 89

foolish as not to eat, you must die. It is
precisely so with believing. '' Believe, and
thou art saved." If thou wilt not believe, it
is no hard thing that thou should st be lost.
It would be strange indeed if it were not to
be the case.

A man who is thirsty stands before a
fountain. "No," he says, ''I will never
touch a drop of moisture as long as I live.
Cannot I get my thirst quenched in my own
way ? " We tell him^ no ; he must drink or
die. He says, '^ I will never drink; but it is
a hard thino^ that I must therefore die. It
is a bigoted, cruel thing to tell me so."
He is wrong. His thirst is the inevitable
result of neglecting a law of nature. You,
too, must believe or die ; w^hy refuse to obey
the command? Drink, man, drink! Take
Christ and live. There is the way of sal-
vation, and to enter you must trust Christ ;
but there is nothing hard in the fact that you
must perish if you will not trust the Saviour.
Here is a man out at sea ; he has a chart,
and that chart, if well studied, Avill, with the
help of the compass, guide him to his journey's
end. The pole-star gleams out amidst the
cloud-rifts, and that, too, will help him.
"No," says he, "I will have nothing to do
w^ith your stars; I do not believe in the

90 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

North Pole. I sliall not attend to tliat little
thing inside the box ; one needle is as good
as another needle. I have no faith in your
chart, and I will have nothing to do with it.
The art of navigation is only a lot of non-
sense, got up by people on purpose to make
money, and I will not be gulled by it."
The man never reaches port, and he says it
is a very hard thing — a very hard thing. I
do not think so. Some of you say, ''I am
not going to read the Scriptures ; I am not
going to listen to your talk about Jesus
Christ: I do not believe in such things."
Then Jesus says, '^He that belie veth not
shall be damned." ^' That's very hard," say
you. But it is not so. It is not more hard
than the fact that if you reject the compass
and the pole-star you will not reach your
port. There is no help for it ; it must be so.
You say you will have nothing to do with
Jesus and his blood, and you pooh-pooh all
relio^ioQ. You will find it ha-rd to lauo^h
these matters down when you come to die,
when the clammy sweat must be wiped from
your brow, and your heart beats against
your ribs as if it wanted to leap out and
fly away from God. 0 soul ! you will find
then, that those Sundays, and those services,
and this old Book, are something more and

WITHOUT FAITH NO SALVATION. 01

better than you tliought they were, and you
will wonder that you were so simple as to
neglect any true help to salvation. Above
all, what woe it will be to have neglected
Christ, that Pole-star which alone can guide
the mariner to the haven of rest !

Where do you live ?

You live, perhaps, on the other side of the
river, and you have to cross a bridge before
you can get home. You have been so silly
as to nurse the notion that you do not believe
in bridges, nor in boats, nor in the existence
of such a thing as water. You say, ' ' I am
not going over any of your bridges, and
I shall not get into any of your boats. I do
not believe that there is a river, or that there
is any such stuff as water." You are going
home, and soon you come to the old bridge ;
but you will not cross it. Yonder is a boat ;
but you are determined that you will not get
into it. There is the river, and you resolve
that you will not cross it in the usual way ;
and yet you think it is very hard that you
cannot get home. Surely something has
destroyed your reasoning powers, for you
would not think it so hard if you were in
your senses. If a man will not do the thing
that is necessary to a certain end, how can
he expect to gain that end ? You have taken

92 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

poison, and the physician brings an antidote,
and says, ^' Take it quickly, or you will die;
but if you take it quickly, I will guarantee
that the poison will be neutralized." But
you say, ^^No, doctor, I do not believe in
antidotes. Let everything take its course ;
let every tub stand on its own bottom ; I
will have nothing to do with your remedy.
Besides, I do not believe that there is any
remedy for the poison I have taken ; and,
what is more, I don't care whether there is
or not.''

Well, sir, you will die ; and when the
coroner's inquest is held on your body, the
verdict will be, ^ Served him right ! ' So
will it be with you if, having heard the
gospel of Jesus Christ, you say, ^' I am too
much of an advanced man to have any-
thinfr to do with that old-fashioned notion
of substitution. I shall not attend to the
preacher's talk about sacrifice and blood-
shedding." Then, when you perish, the
verdict given by your conscience, which will
sit upon the King's quest at last, will run
thus, '^ Suicide : he destroyed his own soul.^^
So says the old Book — ' 0 Israel, thou hast
destroyed thyself 1 " lieader, I implore thee,
do not so.

To TH03E WHO H/^VE BeLIEVED.

RIENDS, if now you have
begun to trust the Lord,
trust him out and out.
Let your faitli be the
most real and practical
thing in 3'our whole life.
Don't trust the Lord in
mere sentiment about a
few great spiritual things; but trust him
for everything, for ever, both for time and
eternity, for body and for soul. See hoAv
the Lord hangeth the world upon nothing
but his own word ! It has neither prop nor
pillar. Yon great arch of heaven stands
without a buttress or a wooden centre. The
Ijord can and will bear all the strain tliat
faith can ever put upon him. The greatest
troubles are easy to his power, and the
darkest mysteries are clear to his wisdom.

AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

Trust God up to the hilt. Lean, and lean
hard ; yes, lean all your weight, and every
other weight upon the Mighty God of Jacob.

The future you can safely leave with the
Lordj who ever liveth and never changeth.
The past is now in your Saviour's hand, and
you shall never be condemned for it, what-
ever it may have been, for the Lord has
cast your iniquities into tlie midst of the
sea. Believe at this moment in your present
privileges. You are saved. If you are a
believer in the Lord Jesus, you have passed
from death unto life, and you are saved.
In the old slave days a lady brought her
black servant on board an English ship,
and she laughingly said to the Captain, " I

TO THOSE WHO HAVE BELIEVED. 95

suppose if I and Aunt Chloe were to go to Eng-
land she would be free ? " ^' Madam," said
the Captain, " she is noiv free. The moment
she came on board a British vessel she was
free." When the negro woman knew this,
she did not leave the ship — not she. It was
not the hope of liberty that made her bold,
but the fact of liberty. So you are not now
merely hoping for eternal life, but ^ ' Ble that
believeth in him hath everlasting lifeP Accept
this as a fact revealed in the sacred Word,
and begin to rejoice accordingly. Do not
reason about it, or call it in question ; believe
it, and leap for joy.

I want my reader, upon believing in the
Lord Jesus, to believe for eternal salvation.
Do not be content with the notion that you
can receive a new birth which will die out,
a heavenly life which will expire, a pardon
which will be recalled. The Lord Jesus
gives to his sheep eternal life, and do not be
at rest until you have it. Now, if it be
eternal, how can it die out ? Be saved out
and out, for eternity. There is ^^ a living
and incorruptible seed, which liveth and
abideth for ever " ; do not be put off with a
temporary change, a sort of grace which
will only bloom to fade. You are now
starting on the railway of grace — take a

96 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

ticket all the way through. I have no
com mission to preach to you salvation for a
time : the gospel I am bidden to set before
you is, ''He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved." He shall be saved from sin,
from going* back to sin, from turning aside
to the broad road. May the Holy Spirit lead
you to believe for nothing less than that.
''Do you mean," says one, "that I am to
believe if I once trust Christ I shall be saved
whatever sin I may choose to commit ? " I
have never said anything of the kind. I
have described true salvation as a thorough
change of heart of so radical a kind that it
will alter your tastes and desires ; and I say
that if you have such a change w^rought in
you by the Holy Spirit, it will be permanent ;
for the Lord's work is not like the cheap
work of the present day, which soon goes to
pieces. Trust the Lord to keep you, how-
ever long you may live, and however much
you may be tempted ; and " according to
your faith, so be it unto you." Believe in
Jesus for everlasting life.

Oh, that you may also trust the Lord for
all the sufferings of this present time ! In
the world you will have tribulation ; learn by
faith to know that all things work together
for good, and then submit yourself to tlic

TO THOSE WHO HAVE BELIEVED.

Lord's will. Look at the sheep when it is

.^.

being shorn. If it lies quite still, the shears
will not hurt it ; if it struggles, or even
shrinks, it may be pricked. Submit your-
selves under the hand of God, and afflic-
tion will lose its sharpness. Self-will and
7

98 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

repining cause us a hundred times more
grief than our afflictions themselves. So be-
lieve your Lord as to be certain that his
will must be far better than yours, and
therefore you not only submit to it, but even
rejoice in it.

Trust the Lord Jesus in the matter of
sanctification. Certain friends appear to
think that the Lord Jesus cannot sanctify
them wholly, spirit, soul, and body. Hence
they wilUngly give way to such and such
sins under the notion that there is no help
for it, but that they must pay tribute to the
devil as long as they live in that particular
form. Do not basely bow your neck in
bondage to any sin, but strike hard for
liberty. Be it anger, or unbelief, or sloth,
or any other form of iniquity, we are able,
by divine grace, to drive out the Canaanite,
and, what is more, we must drive him out.
No virtue is impossible to him that believeth
in Jesus, and no sin need have victory over
him. Indeed, it is written, ^^ Sin sliall not
have dominion over you : for ye are not
under the law, but under grace." Believe
for high degrees of joy in the Lord, and
likeness to Jesus, and advance to take full
possession of these precious things ; for as
thou believest, so shall it be unto thee.

TO THOSE WHO HAVE BELIEVED. 99

^^All tilings are possible to him that be-
lieve! h " ; and he who is the chief of sinners
may yet be not a whit behind the greatest
of saints.

Often realize the joy of heaven. This is
grand faith ; and yet it is no more than we
ought to have. Within a very short time
the man who believes in the Lord Jesus shall
be with him where he is. This head will wear
a crown ; these eyes shall see the King in his
beauty ; these ears shall hear his own dear
voice ; this soul shall be in glory ; and this
poor body shall be raised from the dead and
joined in in corruption to the perfected soul !
Glory, glory, glory ! And so near, so sure.
Let us at once rehearse the music and anti-
cipate the bliss !

But cries one, ' ' We are not there yet." No :
but faith fills us with delight in the blessed
prospect, and meanwhile it sustains us on
the road. Reader, I long that you may be
a firm believer in the Lord alone. I want
you to get wholly upon the rock, and not
keep a foot on the sand. In this mortal life
trust God for all things ; and trust him alone.
This is the way to live. I know it by
experience. God's bare arm is quite enough
to lean upon. I will give you a bit of the
experience of an old labouring man I once

100 AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

knew. He feared God above many, and
was very deeply taught of the Spirit. My
picture will show you what kind of a man
he was — great at hedging and ditching; but
greater at simple trust. Here is how he
described faith: — "It was a bitter winter,
and I had no work, and no bread in the
house. The children were crying. The
snow was deep, and my way was dark.
My old master told me I might have a
bit of wood when I wanted it : so I thouorht
a bit of fire would warm the poor children,
and I went out with my chopper to get some
fuel. I was standing near a deep ditch full
of snow, which had drifted into it many feet
deep — in fact, I did not know how deep.
While aiming a blow at a bit of wood my
bill-hook slipped out of my hand, and went
right down into the snow, where I could not
hope to find it. Standing there with no food,
no fire, and the chopper gone, something
seemed to say to me, ' Will Richardson, can
you trust Grod now ? ' and my very soul said,
' That I can.' " This is true faith— the faith
which trusts the Lord when the bill-hook is
gone : the faith which believes God when all
outward appearances give him the lie ; the
faith which is happy with God alone when
all friends turn their backs upon you. Dear

TO THOSE WHO HAVE BELIEVED. 101

OLD WILL, THE LABOFTIER.

102 AROUND THE WICKET OxATE.

reader, may you and I have this precious
faith, this real faith, this God-honouring
faith ! The Lord's truth deserves it ; his
love claims it, his faithfulness constrains it.
Happy is he who has it ! He is the man
whom the Lord loves, and the world shall be
made to know it before all is finished.

After all, the very best faith is an every-
day faith : the faith which deals with bread
and water, coats and stockings, children and
cattle, house-rent and weather. The super-
fine confectionery religion which is only
available on Sundays, and in drawing-room
meetings and Bible readings, will never take
a soul to heaven till life becomes one long
Conference, and 'there are seven Sabbaths
in a week. Faith is doing her very best
when for many years she plods on, month
by month, trusting the Lord about the sick
husband, the failing daughter, the declining
business, the unconverted friend, and such-
like things.

Faith also helps us to use the world as not
abusing it. It is good at hard work, and at
daily duty. It is not an angelic thing for
skies and stars, but a human grace, at home
in kitchens and workshops. It is a sort of
maid of- all-work, and is at home at every
kind of labour, and in every rank of life.

TO THOSE WHO HAVE BELIEVED. 103

It is a grace for every day, all the year
round. Holy confidence in God is never out
of work. Faith's ware is so valued at the
heavenly court that she always has one fine
piece of work or another on the wheel or in
the furnace. Men dream that lieroes are only
to be made on special occasions, once or
twice in a century ; but in truth the finest
heroes are home-spun, and are more often
hidden in obscurity than platformed by public
observation. Trust in the living God is the
bullion out of which heroism is coined. Per-
severance in well-doing is one of the fields
in which faith grows not flowers, but the
wheat of her harvest. Plodding on in hard
work, bringing up a family on a few shillings
a week, bearing constant pain with patience,
and so forth — these are the feats of valour
through which God is glorified by the rank
and file of his believing people.

Keader, you and I will be of one mind in
this : we will not pine to be great, but we
will be eager to be good. For this we will
rely upon the Lord our God, whose we are,
and whom we serve. We will ask to be
made holy throughout every day of the
week. We will pray to our God as much
about our daily business as about our soul's
salvation. We will trust him concerning our

104 . AROUND THE WICKET GATE.

farm, and our turnips, and our cows, as well
as concerning our spiritual privileges and
our hope of heaven. The Lord Jehovah is
our household God ; Jesus is our brother
born for adversity ; and the Holy Spirit is
our Comforter in every hour of trial. We
have not an unapproachable Grod : he hears,
he pities, he helps. Let us trust him without
a break, without a doubt, without a hesitation.
The life of faith is life within Grod's wicket-
gate. If we have hitherto stood trembling
outside in the wide world of unbelief, may
the Holy Spirit enable us now to take the
great decisive step, and say, once for all,
^* Lord, I believe : help thou mine unbelief! "

INVALUABLE BOOKS

BY REV. JAS. STALKER, M. A.

LIFE OF CHRIST. i2mo. i66 pp. 60 cts.
One of the latest and best lives of our Lord. Highly
and universally commended.

" It presents in a comparatively small space a clear, con-
cise, and at the same time eloquent account of our Lord's
career and teachings." — Congregationalist.

THE LIFE OF ST. PAUL. i2mo. 183 pp., with map.
60 cts.

A new and admirable work on this exhaustless theme.

The author avails himself of the best previous writings
and presents his own fresh thoughts clearly and concisely.

"The picture of St. Paul's life and teachings as here
given comprehends all the salient points and unites them
into a very striking whole. The treatment is from the ortho-
dox standpoint, under the light of the best modern criti-
cism."— Evangelist.

" We do not hesitate to say that no minister's library is
complete without it." — Zion's Advocate.

IMAGO CHRISTI. i2mo. 332 pp. $1 50.

"The book holds the interest from the beginning to the
end. The style is terse, clear, straightforward, adorned only
by a lack of adornment."— Christian Inquirer.

Smerican j|ract Jodctij,

150 NASSAU ST. and 304 FOURTH AV., NEW YORK.

BOSTON, 54 Bromfield st. ROCHESTER, N. Y., 93 State st.
CHICAGO, 122 Wabash av. PHILADELPHIA, 1512 Chestnut st.
CINCINNATI, 176 Elm st. SAN FRANCISCO, 735 Market st.

DAILY LIGHT ON THE DAILY PATH. 32010. Size,
4^ by 3X by ^ inches.

Morning or Evening Hour, each, in cloth, 40 cts.; cloth
gilt, 50 cts.; morocco gilt, ^i ; kid-lined, $2,.

Morning and Evening Hour, combined. 32010 edition.
Cloth, 60 cts.; cloth gilt, 75 cts.; Seal Russia, |i 20; morocco,
%i 40; morocco, red and gold edges, %\ 60; seal extra, gold
edges, %2 ; calf, %2 ; kid-lined, $4.

Large Print Edition. i6mo. Size, 5^ by 4>^ ins.

Morning or Evening Hour, each, cloth gilt, 75 cts.; mo-
rocco, gilt, |i.

Morning and Evening Hour, combined. Morocco gilt, %2 ;
calf, |2 50; Levant gilt, I3 ; kid-lined, I5.

ANCHOR OF THE SOUL. By Dr. Arnot. 24mo.
48 pp. Cloth, 40 cts.; gilt, 60 cts. Cloth limp, 20 cts.

BIBLE PRAYERS. By Jonas King, D. D. 32mo. 182
pp. Cloth, 25 cts.

CHRISTIAN HOME LIFE. i2mo. 299 pp. %i.

DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. By J. R. Boyd,
D. D. i8mo. 104 pp. Cloth, 30 cts.; gilt, 50 cts.; morocco,
|i 25.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS. By D. A. Harsha, M. A.
i2mo. 566 pp. 7 portraits. Cloth, |i 50.

DROPS FROM THE BROOK BY THE WAY. 24mo.
196 pp. Cloth, 50 cts.

PASSION FLOWERS. By Rev. C. S. Hageman, D. D.
24mo. Illuminated. 64 pp. Cloth gilt, 50 cts.

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,

150 NASSAU ST. and 304 FOURTH AV., NEW YORK.

THE BIBLE IN PICTURE AND STORY.

By Mrs. L. S. Houghton. 4to. 240 pp. 269 illustrations,
many of them full-page. Cloth, $1 25; gilt extra, |i 75.

" An outline of Biblical history, told simply enough for
the children to grasp easily, full of interest, and illustrated
freely and fittingly. We like it." — Congregationalist.

** Here is a book, safe, interesting, educating, sanctifying,
designed and calculated to mould and otherwise help to
form and even to construct the plastic mind for righteous-
ness, usefulness, and honor. It should certainly fare well."

Occident.

" It is very freely illustrated. The type is large and suit-
able for little folks, and the old, old stories of the old, old
Book are told in a manner calculated to prove very attractive
to little learners." — New York Observer.

" This volume is adapted to catch the attention and win
the interest of every child. There is a picture on every page
of the two hundred and forty which make up the handsome
quarto. Mothers who seek a new version of the old story
will be glad to have their attention called to this, both for
reading to the children and for placing in their hands when
they have learned to read themselves."

Christian Intelligencer.

American Tract Society,

150 NASSAU ST. and 304 FOURTH AV., NEW YORK.

Helps to Bible Study.

THE BIBLE DICTIONARY. By Rev. W. W. Rand, D. D.
Revised and enlarged. 720 pp. 8vo. 360 illustrations. 18
maps. Cloth, $2; sheep, sprinkled edge, $2 50; morocco,
gilt, |3 50; full Levant, I5.

"A model of accuracy, cheapness, and typographical ex-
cellence."— Occident.

" I have had occasion to refer to it frequently, and I am
more than satisfied with its fulness and accuracy."

Rev. C. Hamlin, D. D., in Christian Mirror.

COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. By Prof. E. P. Bar-
rovi^s, D. D. Designed to assist in the study of God's Word.
8vo. 639 pp. Cloth, |i 75 ; half morocco, red edge, I3.

CRUDEN'S CONCORDANCE. Edited by Rev. John
Eadie. This book, containing over 150,000 distinct references
to passages in the Scriptures, is invaluable to the student of
the Word. Cloth, $1 ; roan, sprinkled edge, $2 25 ; half mo-
rocco, sprinkled edge, $3.

BIBLE TEXT-BOOK. i2mo. 232 pp. Cloth, 90 cts.

A short yet very comprehensive cyclopaedia of the con-
tents of the Holy Scriptures. All Bible places, persons, and
subjects are arranged alphabetically, and under each word is
given the texts bearing upon the same. It has the " Bible
Student's Manual," with indexes, tables of various kinds, and
a complete set of maps. It is one of the most useful and
complete " Bible Helps " published.

/\n]QriQaT] TraQt Society,

150 NASSAU ST. and 304 FOURTH AV., NEW YORK.

NEW MINION TYPE, 6^ inches long, 5 wide, i^ thick.

References between the verses. Morocco, leather lined,

protecting edges, round corners, full flexible - I3 50

With Text-Book, order No. 184; Concordance, No. 214.

Levant, kid-lined, with pocket, red under gold edges,
round corners, extra- 5 00

With Text-Book, No. 185 ; Concordance, No. 215.
"LARGE PRINT" Edition, yj^ inches by 5X by i^.
References in centre of page. Mor., limp or stiff - 4 00

With Text-Book, No. 189; Concordance, No. 219.
Morocco, kid-lined, divinity circuit, full-flexible - 7 00
With Text-Book, No. 191 ; Concordance, No. 221.

Levant, kid-lined, flexible, silk-sewed, protecting edges,

pocket, round corners 10 00

With Text-Book, No, 192 ; Concordance, No. 222.

LARGE PAPER (Wide Margin) Edition. 8^ ins. by 6>^
by 1%. Ref's in centre. With 24 blank pages for Notes,
Scripture Index, Maps, etc. Seal, kid-lined. No. 199 11 00
Do. with Text-Book instead of Scrip. Index, No. 211 12 00

BIBLE STUDENT'S Editions. Full-faced Bourgeois, kid-
lined binding, with Index and Maps. No. 250 - 10 00
Same book, with Bible Text-Book, No. 255 - - 11 00

NEW STYLES, POCKET EDITIONS, containing over
500 pages of aids to Bible Study, including Concordance,
Subject Index, Proper Names, their pronunciation, etc..
Epitome of Bible History, Chronological Tables, Bible
Monuments, Classification of Bible Animals, Birds, Po-
etry, Music, Weights and Measures, with 12 Maps.

No. 603 T. Pearl, sH by 4X by 1)4 ins. French morocco,

flap edges, gilt, round corners, postpaid - - i 75

No. 496 T. Ruby, size and binding as 603. Postpaid i 88

7\tt|eriGar| Tract SoQietyj

150 NASSAU ST. and 304 FOURTH AV., NEW YORK.

VOLUMES BY DR. ROBINSON.

SABBATH EVENING SERMONS. 12mo. $1 25

Discourses which might be read for tlie services in churches Avith-
out a pastor.

SERMONS IN SONGS. 12mo. 1 25

Sermons preached in the Memorial Church, New York city, the
texts of which are chosen from the Songs of the Bible.

CHURCH WORK. 12mo. 1 25

Sermons neither occasional nor selected, but the actual rehearsal
(once a week) of half a year's pastoral work.

BETHEL AND PENUEL. 12mo. 1 25

The remaining half-year's work in the same pulpit: founded upon
the two incidents of Jacob's life at Bethel and Penuel.

STUDIES OF NEGLECTED TEXTS. 12mo. , - 1 25

Sermons peculiar in that the themes of discourse are chosen from
texts somewhat rarely selected for pulpit use.

STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 12mo. 1 25

Homiletic expositions with illustrations of consecutive passages in
the Gospels, the Epistles, and the Apocalypse.

STUDIES IN MARK'S GOSPEL. 12mo. 1 25

These discourses are constructed upon passages for study chosen
in the shortest and most vivid of the four Gospels.

FROM SAMUEL TO SOLOMON. 12mo. 1 25

Four histories— Samuel's and Saul's. David's and Solomon's— cross
the highest lines of Israel's splendor as a kingdom.

STUDIES IN LUKE'S GOSPEL. I. 12mo. - - 1 25

These discourses are like the others in construction, being exposi-
tory and illustrative; they cover the first half of the third Gospel.

SIMON PETER: His Early Life and Times. 12mo 1 25

Sermons, biographical and practical, picturesquely delineating the
career of this misunderstood disciple of our Lord.

FOR SALE BY THE

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.

INSTRUCTIVE VOLUMES.

By tliat eminent author

REV. E. F. BURR, D. D., LL. D.

ECCE C(EIiUM. 12mo. 198 pp. $1.

"I have gotten a better idea of Astronomy, as a whole, from it than I ever
got before fi-ora all other sources."— Horace Bushnell.

PATER 3IUJVDI ; or Modern Science Testifying to the Hea-renly
Father. First Series. l2mo. 307 pp. $1 25.

" It discusses with masterly ability the testimonies of Modern Science to the
being of a God."— Presbyterian Review.

PATER MUIVDI ; or The Doctrine of Evolution. Second Series.
12mo. 370 pp. $1 25.

"A complete and unanswerable reply to Evolutionism." — Lutheran Quar-
terly Review.

AD FIDEM. 12mo. 388 pp. $1 50.

" One of the finest defences of the Christian religion tliat has been made in
this country."— Christian quarterly.

TEMPTED TO UNBEL.IEF. 12mo. 224 pp. $1.

"We should like to see it circulating actively from house to house in every
community."— Congregationalist.

CEIiESTIAL. EMPIRES. 12mo. 302 pp. $1 50.

" A very grand view of the revelations of science."— Prof. James Dana.

UXIVERSAIi BELIEFS. 12mo. 312 pp. $1 25.

"An able and opportune volume, forcibly setting forth essential truths."—
President Mark Hopkins.

LONG AGO: as Interpreted by the Nineteenth Century. 12mo.

388 pp. Cloth, $1 50.

SUPREME THINGS. l-2n:o. 430 pp. $1 75.

A fresh and suggestive work, treating in the author's striking style of many
of the themes of highest importance— such as the Supreme Book, the Supreme
Day, Institution, Evil, Good, etc.

American Tract Society,

150 Nassau St., New York; Boston. 54 Biomfield St.: Philadelphia, 1512 Chestnut
St.; Rochester, 93 State St.: Chicago, 122 Wabash Ave.; Cincinnati, 176 Elm St.;
San Francisco, 735 Market St.

IMPORTANT RELIGIOUS WORKS.

MR. SPURGEON'S NEW BOOKS.

I. THE SALT-CELLARS, PROVERBS AND QUAINT

SAYINGS, Together with Homely Notes Thereon.

JM. to Ij, Very handsomely bound in i2mo, illuminated
cloth, gilt side, $i 50.

"The placing of a proverb for every day for twenty years
has cost me great labor, and I feel that I cannot afford to lose the
large collection of sentences which I have thus brought together.
There are many proverb books, but none exactly like these. Some
of my sentences are quite new, and more are put into a fresh form."

From the Author^s Preface.
The London Literary World says : " There is not a page that is not brightened
with genuine wit and enriched with wisdom."

" An admirable help to teachers and preacliers, being very suggestive of illus-
tration. It is not only highly entertaining, but full of instruction."

St. Louis Evangelist.
"The pith, pertinence, and point of the work are sure to make it popular and
helpful." — N. W. Christian Advocate and Journal.

" An exceedingly interesting book which should find a place in every family,
and especially in every teacher's library." — Reformed Quarterly Review.

Second Series — A Companion Volume — •JfK to J^.
THE SALT-CELLARS, PROVERBS AND QUAINT
SAYINGS. Bound uniform with ist series. Price, |i 50.

II. THE CHEQUE BOOK OF THE BANK OF FAITH.

Being Precious Promises arranged for daily use. With

brief experimental comments. Nearly 400 pages, i2mo,

cloth, gilt side, %\ 50.

"When it is stated that this well-named book contains a Scrip-
ture Promise for Each Day in the Year, commented on, in his best
vein, by the prince of practical and experimental preachers, enough
has been said to commend it as first in its class."

JSeio York Christian Intelligencer.

" It is done in the great preacher's inimitable style, and speaks home on every
page to the heart and need of the believer."— iVew York Independent.

"Mr. Spurgeon's words are so plain, his style so spiirkling, and his spirit so
devout, that the reading of his productions is almost sure to excite a mental glow
and awaken holy aspirations. This book is brimful of quickening, soothing, soul-
lifting power."— iVew York Witness.

" As there are three hundred and sixty-five cheques in this book, the man who
makes right use of tiiem is rich indeed." — New York Observer.

Copies sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price.
A. C. ARMSTRONG & SON, 714 Broadv^ay, New York.

p. /L

'^'^M

■'^:i

.1 .v.c^'V^^^^^
S'i-'fli^ ^♦t'p -'^^^

. ir^ ^5 :5^s'

UBRARY

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Texts

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "Around the wicket gate; or, A friendly talk with seekers concerning faith in the Lord Jesus Christ"

See other formats